THE NEW JERSEY MUSIC EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION a federated state association of NATIONAL ASSOCIATION for MUSIC EDUCATION News From Our Division Chairs
the performances. Some thought that the performances were too short. Some thought that there were too many and they couldn’t see all that they wanted to see. The concert hour has been a staple of the ED Conference for decades. We discussed doing it at the NJMEA Conference, but we don’t have the space. We have the space on our Academy Day – and that’s why we do it!
While we are still cleaning up a few items from April, it’s great to be able to say that it’s over. It went by so quickly that I find it difficult
to remember everything that happened. I thank you all for the opportunity to have been NJMEA President during this memorable event. I hope that you took away some new techniques and ideas for your classroom.
Welcome back to the new school year and best wishes for a wonderful start and even better end!
President-Elect Patrick O’Keefe
Smithville School, Galloway o’
keefep@gtps.k12.nj.us
This past June, I had the opportunity to travel to Washington DC, along with other members of the
NJMEA Board, to attend NAfME’s National Assembly. This is the one time in the year where delegations from all 50 state MEAs come together with several purposes, the largest of which is advocacy. Some people join NAfME and NJMEA because they want to be eligible for their students to participate in
region and state ensembles. Others join to attend the conference, or possibly network with colleagues. Beyond some of those reasons, I was not aware of what NAfME, and NJMEA as a result, actively did for its members. The National Assembly is a very powerful example of something behind the scenes to many members, but very much in the forefront of our profession’s advocacy efforts. Hill Day took place on June 29th, where state music educators from throughout the country started the day by rallying as a group in song outside of House and Sen- ate offices before traveling to meet their representatives. As many of us know, it was a huge step to have music education included in the ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act). In light of this accomplishment, the overarching goal of Hill Day was to voice our support for the full funding of Titles I, II and IV as part of that legislation. This would result in financial support for our content area and music education professionals as the bill was intended. Members of our NJMEA Executive Board, alongside representatives from the state collegiate board, spent the day meeting with education representatives in each New Jersey congressperson’s office. As someone going to the Hill for the first time, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Our Hill Day coincided with the health care bill efforts in the Senate, so I wondered if Congressional members would even care about appropriated funds for music education as a part of ESSA. As it turns out, the legislative assistants who met with us agreed with our message. A highlight included sitting with Donald Payne Jr. of our 10th congressional district and hearing about his own experiences with music edu- cation and his family’s dedication to education as a whole. It’s not often we get to meet with the actual congressperson, so hearing from Payne directly was appreciated. Beyond working on the Hill, the National Assembly provided the hundreds of state
representatives the opportunity to come together, share their state’s successes and hear the goals of our national organization. One of NAfME’s core beliefs and focuses is the commitment to equity and access to music education for all students in all areas. NAfME stressed the idea of broadening our typical view of the classical
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