Committee Updates

NFHS Update

Brandon DuVall

OMEA has forged a new relationship with the National Federation of State High School Associations, also known as NFHS. For me, I had never heard of NFHS until the Summer of 2020. That was when they partnered with NAMM (“Best Communities for Music Education”) and several universities to commission the aerosol study that many schools around the country used as their first piece of information for navigating music instruction during the pandemic.

Since then, OMEA has officially become an affiliate member of NFHS. This is my second year of a four-year term serving on the national music committee for NFHS. We meet monthly to discuss a variety of music-related topics. Below I will highlight some of the ways NFHS can benefit you as a music educator.

What is NFHS?

From the NFHS Website, in their own words: “The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), based in Indianapolis, Indiana, is the national leader and advocate for high school athletics as well as fine and performing arts programs. Within our 51 member state associations (including Washington, D.C.), we serve 19,500 high schools and more than 12 million young people.

We offer online education courses for high school speech and music leaders through the NFHS Learning Center. Ultimately, our goal is to ensure that all students have an opportunity to enjoy healthy participation, achievement and good sportsmanship in education-based activities.”

Last September, OMEA Executive Director Jay Wardeska and former OMEA Trustee and current NFHS National Music Committee member Brandon DuVall presented a session at the National NFHS Conference in Chicago. Their session, entitled “Managing Transitions,” chronicled the movement and evolution of OMEA as we transitioned from Roger Hall to Jay Wardeska. The presentation was well-received and highlighted not only the change in leadership, but the numerous member-led initiatives and changes we’ve seen in the past few years. Their presentation led to numerous questions and inquiries from state leaders of other MEA’s about how the successful transition within OMEA might look in their states.

Ben Logan Honor Choir Participants

NFHS Resources Can Help Me

1. Training Modules

NFHS has an extensive library of training modules that music educators can use for a variety of purposes. Here is a link to the Performing Arts modules: Performing Arts Courses (25)

Many of these courses are free, and educators have the ability to earn clock hours after completing them. One of their most popular training modules is “Understanding Copyright and Compliance.” You can visit the course (free) here: Understanding Copyright and Compliance Course

Another popular course, “Band Safety,” is also available and free: Band Safety Course

2. Arts Advocacy NFHS is highly involved in Arts Advocacy and has many resources available to help schools advocate for their music programs! The Arts Advocacy page has tons of resources you can use in your local schools. One particular project, Make Music Together, provides resources for International Make Music Day, June 21.

Grandview Heights Wizard of Oz

3. Heat-related Illness Study In partnership with the Mayo Clinic, NFHS commissioned a study on heat-related illness. At the 2023 National NFHS Conference, Dr. Neha Raukar presented initial findings about heat-related illness, specifically pertaining to marching band. Her presentation can be seen here: Marching to the Beat of Safety: Preventing and Managing Heat Related Illness

The next step is for the Mayo Clinic to follow students during marching band season and track fluctuations in body temperature and function during rehearsals. To date, there are 13 schools from around the country (including at least one from Ohio) that will have students wear a device that tracks changes in body chemistry and temperature during marching band rehearsals. The findings from the next step of this study will be presented at the next national NFHS Conference this September. If you’d like information about having your school potentially join the study, email me directly at bduvall@oranegcsd.org.

4. Composer Diversity Project The NFHS has partnered with the Institute for Composer Diversity to produce National and State Repertoire Reports which examine the diversity of composers represented in music lists recommended, prescribed, or required by states during the 2022-2023 school year. Nearly 85,000 works were submitted by state associations required/recommended band, orchestra, and choral repertoires.

The band, orchestra, and choral reports and searchable databases can be found here: Composer Diversity | Arts Advocacy

OMEA’s relationship with NFHS will only continue to grow and strengthen over the years. We will continue to collaborate with them and share new information as it becomes available. Look for another NFHS update next Fall after their national convention in September.

D4 Honor Band

${prev-page}

${next-page}