through the networking being able to connect with Wisconsin and have a conversation about being able to license the repertoire list so that we can have a clearance that we can use to be a part of the Festival. That’s just one example of where this all might go. There are certainly some other things regarding additional activities and we are having conversations with people from around the country regarding the marching band situation and how might that benefit any of our affiliated work with the NJ Marching Band Directors Association as they continue to expand their work and what does that mean for our instrumental direc- tors. So, there’s a lot of opportunity and a lot of new areas that we can grow into as we emerge from where we are in this Covid crisis right now into what things will look like, with the goal that all of our students have the opportunity to actively participate in a performing arts education as part of their scholastic education. JW: Bob took the words out of my mouth. We really do hang our hats on helping our states create opportunities for participa- tion. Every kid who wants to participate should be able to find that avenue to participate. We want to focus that as our main mission on what we’re trying to do at the state and national levels and what we can do to support that. Sometimes it’s advocacy, and we have really taken a turn towards advocacy these last few years. But, it’s not always about advocacy. It is sometimes about creating a new opportunity. I give Bob and Arts Ed NJ a lot of credit for starting the Festival, which is a huge opportunity for students. They are going to get a national caliber adjudication experience and see what that is like and see where their perfor- mance stacks up and what that feedback looks like. To me that’s a huge opportunity and experience those kids will be able to take with them moving forward for a long time and it will benefit the program where those kids attend as well.
What is the collaboration and cooperation between the athletic and arts associations at the state levels? JW: When the pandemic started, we started having meet-
ings every ten days as arts administrators. Now it has moved to once a month because we have a better understanding of how things are going. For the first few meetings, we would spend the first 45 minutes of an hour meeting just talking about what was going on in the states. Those conversations were invaluable be- cause everyone shared their experiences and that became a great community building component for everyone. This allowed for a space for everyone to learn from everyone through that experi- ence. When it comes to what happens in the athletic world, we have a week separation with the performing arts and athletic side as far as meetings. They mostly work autonomously from each other, but they do have impacts on each other as well. I am of the opinion, and maybe I’m the minority right now, but I think that
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whatever is good for athletics is good for performing arts, and what’s good for performing arts is also good for athletics. We have a lot to learn from all sides and I think that helps to strengthen some of the networking relationships that we have. BM: Yes, and I think that is the point. It opened up avenues
back in the Fall where some of our large, independent athletic conferences were saying that marching bands couldn’t partici- pate. I was immediately able to call Colleen (Maguire, COO of the NJ State Interscholastic Athletic Association/NJSIAA) and ask her if this is coming from the NJSIAA and she said absolutely not. So I was able to reach out to the individual conference and tell them it didn’t make any sense as to why they would exclude these students. Next thing you know our marching bands which were interested in participating were then allowed to participate. I think it’s the ability to have that level of communication when misinformation comes out that we get it straightened out. Now it is about finding where are the areas of collaboration and where are some things we can work together on and share information on. Where might we be able to enlist their support on something that is a priority of us. That’s somewhere where there is tremen- dous opportunity to see where the NJSIAA and ArtsEdNJ can collaborate together in certain areas. I think it is important to point out that NJSIAA has some leeway because they are ad- dressing after school activities. Our work is both in school and after school. So, the after school activities areas we will certainly be providing leadership on. The in school areas which we also have been providing leadership on also falls under the purview of the Department of Education. Athletics does not necessarily fall under their purview where curricular arts instruction does. We have to play in both worlds now to make sure our in school is happening appropriately with the development of standards and even guidelines for in school activities particularly in this Covid environment, as well as the role we are playing in over- seeing the after school activities which prior to now were off on their own, What we are trying to do now is provide leadership in that space so that the folks don’t feel like they are off on an island all by themselves. ArtsEdNJ is here to serve them the same way NJSIAA is there to serve athletics. JW: Having that communication between the two organi- zations, in my opinion, only helps both organizations.
How will our members get more information about the benefits of the NFHS and Arts Ed NJ affiliation? BM: Certainly, we will get all the information out regarding
the opportunities with NFHS to all our affiliated organizations and through our Steering Committee meetings and leadership organizations. All the statewide arts organizations have a seat on those leadership organizations. We will be able to share out the
MAY 2021
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