Band Director Jon Arnold was awarded by the Ohio Music Education Association for his 25 years as a band director. Mr.Arnold is honored and proud to be able to receive the award and all of the amazing experiences he’s had over his long career.
Mr. Arnold has been teaching for 27 years and has been band director at Edgewood for 19 years.
“I’ve been teaching for so long and it’s gone by so fast,” Arnold said.
Not many people get to be a band director for that long nor do they get an honor like this.
¨I was proud and grateful to receive the award, Arnold said.
Through all of Mr. Arnold’s struggles, he was able to give an amazing experience to so many kids. Mr . Arnold is very appreciative of all the fond memories he’s made over his career.
“My most memorable experience was qualifying for state in 2016,” Arnold said.
This was Mr. Arnold’s first time qualifying for state at Edgewood. His bands have qualified seven times in a row from 2016-2022. The band got a superior rating four times in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022.
Mr.Arnold has a very successful career but it also has come with its struggles.
“Budget cuts and personal illness have made the job harder,” Arnold said.
Mr. Arnold had to take a leave of absence in 2021 due to being diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) and was out for the 22/23 school year. In addition to missing Mr. Arnold, the band faced budget cuts from the failure of the levy in 2023. However, Mr. Arnold has returned and things are back on track for the 23/24 school year.
Mr.Arnold has had a strong influence on so many of his students and they were very sad when he had to leave. Especially senior Hannah Mays-Harding who got introduced to Mr. Arnold in her 8th grade year when she first started marching.
“He had a huge impact on my music career and my self-confidence” Mays-Harding said.
Hannah has been a part of the marching band for 5 years now and has qualified for state multiple times. She has also been a part of the honor band for a year, concert band for seven years, three years of jazz band, and two years of musical orchestra.
Mr.Arnold hopes to continue his stay as band director for many years to come.
