Since leaving Waco, Jennifer Martin has won respect as a music educator in big school districts in Fort Worth and Arlington. She has been tapped by her peers to lead the Texas Music Educators Association.
Now she’s coming back to be fine arts director at Midway Independent School District, where she learned to be a teacher, and it feels like a homecoming.
A violist, Martin started as a student teacher in Midway in the mid-2000s after switching majors at Baylor University from music performance to music education.
“From that point on, I knew I found my calling, this is where I belong,” Martin said.
“That set the stage for any other successes that I’ve had since then. I have had such a strong foundation. I was supported just from the administration, from the students, from the parents. Really was set up in an environment to succeed.”
As a student teacher, Martin split her time among three campuses, teaching orchestra students from fifth grade through high school. He jumped at the chance to take a full-time job as orchestra teacher, a role she said set her up for career success.
“As a young teacher, there’s a lot that you need to learn, but it was done in a really positive manner in terms of being able to grow and to have a little room to try some things out and then figure out what stuck,” Martin said.
Martin left Waco in 2008 for a job in Arlington ISD but maintained her connection here, playing viola in the Waco Symphony Orchestra. Most recently, she served as orchestra and mariachi specialist at Fort Worth ISD, a district of more than 67,000 students.
She said that experience taught her how bigger systems worked, how to collaborate and come to a consensus. She said she is excited to bring that experience home to Midway, a district of 9,000 students, which she said is marked by a supportive community and strong culture.
“I think those experiences are going to transfer over well,” Martin said.
“It’s not going to be just coming in and doing everything exactly the same, but I think that that experience can really help come in and just continue to elevate the arts and elevate education in Midway,” she added.
She said the district’s size is a positive factor for students.
“I enjoy being able to really invest and connect with the community,” Martin said. “I think it’s a perfect size that has all the opportunities to give the students everything they deserve. But to really be able to work together closely as a close-knit team is really exciting to me.”
The district received nearly 60 applicants for the fine arts director positions. Martin stood out in the interview process, Superintendent Chris Allen said..
“We feel blessed to be able to bring someone before you who has local knowledge of what it is to be Midway and local knowledge of what it is to be Waco, but has also been in some larger systems,” Allen said at Midway’s April board meeting.
“(She) will be able to bring some things to us that maybe we haven’t seen in Central Texas, and we’ll get an opportunity to grow and learn from that.”
In her new role, Martin plans to immerse herself in the current programs, catch up with how the district has changed and evaluate what is working in fine arts.
“I’m going to be coming in with a keen eye – let’s keep playing to our strengths – what are we doing well, and how can we continue to keep leveling that up?” Martin said.
As Texas Music Educators Association president, Martin has become familiar with districts of all sizes. She said school funding is a struggle across the board.
“It’s a challenge overall, that it trickles down to the different departments, because every district, they’re trying to do right by their students,” Martin said.
“Everyone’s trying to keep the light on and keep everything in the black,” she added.
Martin has continued to perform as a professional with the Waco Symphony Orchestra, including an April performance with renowned Broadway singers, titled “An Emerald City Evening.”
“It’s made me a better teacher, and it makes me a better administrator, to still be actively involved as an artist,” Martin said. “When it comes down to it, that’s where it all started, the love for love for music and love for the arts.”
