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A dedicated and passionate group of students at Morristown High School has been working diligently over the last year to help the MSD actualize its goals for equity, inclusion, and anti-racism. They are members of the MHS Equity and Inclusion Student Council, which was recently selected to represent Morris County for the NJ State Board of Education Student Recognition Program. The group was recognized for this distinction at the State’s Student Recognition Award Ceremony.

According to Interim Executive County Superintendent Dr. Timothy Purnell, the MHS E&I Student Council created a submission that was not only well-crafted and engaging, but which stood out to the judging panel because of its “multi-faceted approach to creating an anti-racist environment.”  

With the support and guidance of MHS educators Matthew Carmel and Tanya Cepeda, the students have used their powerful voices, courageous conversations, and advocacy to drive important changes to district systems and raise awareness of the impact that racism and racist acts have on students' academic success as well as their social and emotional well-being. Mr. Carmel remarked, “It has been the supreme honor of my career to work with such a dedicated, thoughtful and compassionate group of young people. Together they have taken bold and courageous actions to shape policies which will forever impact the students of the Morris School District. Their legacy of leadership is beyond compare.” Mrs. Cepeda added, “Their dedication to creating a more equitable environment at MSD has been their top priority this year. Along with completing their yearly studies, they have dedicated endless hours to this endeavor. This is a well-deserved honor.”

Since June of 2020, the Council has partnered with both high school and Central Office administration to effect real change in the district. Among their many accomplishments this past year, they provided outreach to MSD elementary schools through story time, encouraged middle schoolers of color to take higher level courses in high school, acted as a support system for students of color in AP and Honors classes at MHS, engaged English Language Learners in the high school and facilitated unification among all students regardless of language, provided input on and revisions to the district’s annual Equity and Inclusion student survey and helped Central Office analyze and respond to student data, collaborated with local police departments to improve community relations with law enforcement, and created and led professional development to all district faculty and staff on a very difficult topic--microaggressions.

The MHS Equity and Inclusion Student Council was founded during the 2018-19 school year in alignment with the MSD’s Equity and Inclusion Action Plan, which indicated among many other coordinated objectives a commitment to “provide opportunities for student voice.” From five original members, the group has now grown to over 60, including a 13-member executive board. 

One of the disciplines most impacted by COVID precautions was music--a perennial strength in the Morris School District, where students typically benefit from dedicated instrumental instruction beginning in 4th grade. But in-person ensembles were not possible for the majority of the school year, so music teachers came up with a range of creative remote alternatives that allowed students to practice their craft and further their music education in entirely new ways, safely at home. David Gallagher, MHS Director of Bands, helped his students view the challenges presented by the pandemic as history-making opportunities: “At the beginning of the school year, I told my students that this would be a year unlike any other. But that along every step of the way, they would be making history. The way they learned, communicated, built relationships, and interacted with music all made history.”

Even the FMS and MHS concerts, which in non-pandemic times draw hundreds of proud families and community members to share our students’ love of music, were translated to a virtual environment for a history-making experience. Through the ingenuity and passions of the middle and high school music directors and student musicians--and thanks to the wonders of modern digital recording software--individual performances were painstakingly pieced together to produce several videos of spirited virtual concerts, featuring the symphonic and jazz bands, orchestras, and choirs.

An added bonus of the video concert format was hearing directly from students who spoke about how important making music with their classmates had been throughout the pandemic in terms of helping them feel uplifted and connected, even if that connection had taken new and different forms. MHS senior Michael Polania Vivas remarked, “From online music classes to performing in front of a camera, we’ve all learned something new through the obstacles we’ve faced … Whether the concert is virtual or not, music can still have the power to bring us together in the most unprecedented times.” Eighth grader Hannah Cohen thanked the Morris Education Foundation for a generous grant that enabled the FMS chorus to purchase a set of handbells, which gave students the opportunity to still create beautiful sound together when they were not able to sing as a group in person. “They are so fun, and it is so meaningful for us to be able to make music together during this time,” Hannah said. 

The students’ resilience and ongoing commitment to music is not surprising given the role models they have in a talented and enthusiastic cohort of music educators in the Morris School District. For this year’s annual MEF fundraiser, the MSD music teachers formed a band, “Panic! At the Mayo,” and won the Audience Choice award for their lively collaboration. 

Music instruction at the elementary level took place in a virtual format for most of the academic year, but students still had opportunities to apply their performance skills. For example, they learned a sign language accompaniment to the song “What a Wonderful World,” as well as the “Cups” rhythm featured by actress Anna Kendrick in the film Pitch Perfect. 

Finally, in May, Morristown High School welcomed audiences to the Spring Concert--the District’s first in-person concert since December, 2019. Families brought blankets and lawn chairs to the school’s practice field to enjoy live music by the MHS symphonic band, jazz ensemble, and wind symphony. It was a testament not only to our students’ musical feats but to their enduring strength and spirit throughout this historic year.