Jennifer Brooks "Outstanding Music Educator of the Year"

Posted Oct. 20, 2021

By Graciela Del Rosario

Staff Editor

Among the cacophony of music educators across the country, DDSD’s very own music coordinator Jennifer Brooks was awarded the 2020 -2021 National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) "Outstanding Music Educator of the Year” for section 8 (Northwest region).

The NFHS “Oustanding Music Educator of the Year” award is granted to those acknowledged for their work in the high school music industry at varying levels of national recognition. Brooks was nominated for the award by the Oregon School Activities Organization (OSAA). She was clueless about the nomination until it was publicly announced. She was initially awarded as the Oregon state winner and was placed into a pool of 49 others nationally to be awarded within a section. She is one of eight current section winners in the U.S.

The award itself is a plaque and title, but the majority of its weight stems from recognition and lifetime achievement. There would be a public announcement and forum making rounds, but due to COVID, former activities director and current Alice Ott assistant principal Amber Cowgill presented the plaque and made the announcement to the district. Brooks is placed onto a list of “Top 50 Most Outstanding Music Educators in the United States'' that circulates organizations, like the OSAA. Additionally, because Brooks is a section winner, her name is placed into another pool with the seven other winners, and one person will be chosen later this November to be awarded a National Citation. Only 30 awards have been given out at this level in NFHS history.

“She really is a true national leader in music education in the United States,” said NFHS director of performing arts and sports Dr. James Weaver. “She has done more than most other leaders in her position have done in three years. So, she’s quite an impressive educator of her own right, as well a national leader in creating better directors throughout the United States.”

Brooks feels humbled and honored to receive such a highly regarded achievement. She’s a third-generation band director and the first female in her family to direct, following the footsteps of her grandfather and father. Brooks is thankful to her family and friends for support, and also to former OSAA affiliate Mark Wallmark for connecting her to NFHS in the first place. Her father was presented the same exact award 10 years prior, so it makes accepting it all the more sentimental. She said that she couldn’t have felt more proud of herself. She still remembers being an aspiring band director and seeing her father stand on stage at a 6A level State Band competition, at the end accepting a certificate for being part of the top 20 band programs in the state at 6A. Observing all of the directors standing next to one another, Brooks only saw a single female in the midst. She said that this sparked her to become the next female director to stand on stage and make her mark in a male-dominated space. Fast forward and she’s standing beside her father and current PSU band director Patrick Vandehey on stage, receiving the same certificate. After all these years, she is now the only current female director currently to be accepting the certification once again.

“You know, there just aren’t enough women that do this at the 6A high school level and so, to be recognized in that way and have girls come up and say, ‘Oh! It’s you! You’re the lady band director!’ is pretty cool,” said Brooks.

Brooks taught band and choir previously for two years at a small school before beginning her work at DDHS in the Fall of 1998. At 18, she remembers seeing her father conduct, and she had at that very moment an epiphany to become a band director for DDHS. She’s been DDHS’s band director for 24 years, and DDSD’s music coordinator for two. Brooks received her educator award during a time when teaching classes (especially performing arts) and keeping students engaged became a challenge. She said that she is not only grateful for maintaining DDHS’s passion for music, but also that students return back to the program regardless of the pandemic. The NFHS award serves as a memory of her hard work during these trying times and she anticipates what’s more to come.

“We were all doing things in the dark and there were so many people who were distraught and they weren’t really doing much of anything,” said Brooks. “I would like to thank every single student in the Performing Arts Center that came back to the programs and didn’t just say ‘Oh, I’m over it.’ Those are the kids that are going to set up the future. So, all of the kids that came back right now, my hats off to them.”