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With Great Friends Day approaching our children have been hard at work on a special musical performance for their Great Friends, under the direction of Bradfield’s enthusiastic, engaged, upbeat and veteran music teacher, Jonathan Foley. Mr. Foley is this week’s Bronco Legend, and I’m so happy we have an opportunity to learn more about him!
Growing up in Austin, Texas, Mr. Foley came to love music at a young age. He remembers the fun of singing holiday songs in 2nd grade music class as the beginning of his lifelong pursuit of music. In middle school and high school he sang in his school and church choirs, and credits his high school choir director as the inspiration behind his passion for teaching music.
After high school, Mr. Foley went on to SMU and double majored in vocal performance and music education, and the rest is Bradfield history. Literally! He and his wife, Heather, met through a mutual friend (and former Bradfield parent) when Heather was singing in the HPUMC choir under the direction of Bonnie Jean Coleman (current Bradfield grandmother to 4th grader, Miller Evans!) Mr. Foley was destined to be a Bronco! Following graduation in 2000, he took his first job as Bradfield’s music teacher, and he has not looked back in 25 years!
Hearing Mr. Foley talk about what he loves most about teaching music makes me feel incredibly blessed he’s teaching our students. “I love the fact that we get to create music together. We get to share the passion of the arts. The fact that every bit of music shares some sort of emotional expression is a beautiful thing. Whether it is serious or silly, someone created that music to express a feeling they felt at that time. The inspiration for me is seeing our learners grow over their course of time. I have seen students come from being Kindergarteners to graduates and come back to visit. The fact that many when we visit remark on their memories of their time in the music room truly touches my soul.”
He also believes firmly in the importance and the positive impact of musical education. “Every child should be exposed to the arts! Music has such a strong correlation to mathematics, reading literacy, social studies and many more core subjects. I’m so proud and pleased that HPISD has (and continues to) fight for arts education in our public schools.” His goal at the end of our students’ time at Bradfield is to have successfully built young people who go on to appreciate, participate in and support the arts throughout their lives.
Having been at Bradfield two and a half decades, Mr. Foley has seen a lot! He remembers the classic putting green carpet in the original building, its tiny classical gem of an auditorium (where he squeezed in Winter Concert performances), and the boiler room where Mr. Dale would load coal to heat the school. And while our physical building has changed and our technology has received quite an upgrade, Mr. Foley feels our special Bradfield culture is just the same.
“The loving, caring group of staff that gives their all for the students is just as strong as my first day here. That is a fact I am very proud of,” he says. He pridefully describes a community of families, teachers and staff who are close-knit, strong, and compassionate, and who bend over backwards for their family, students and neighborhood.
In his time away from Bradfield, Mr. Foley is relishing time with his wife, Heather, and their “pride and joy” 13-year-old daughter, Julianna. When he isn’t "chauffeuring" Julianna around to her many activities, he loves smoking meats in their backyard with his dog, Maverick. As a family The Foley’s love to travel together. (Next week they’ll head to Taos for Spring Break!) And he’s also a giant college football fan, especially to his SMU Mustangs! In the fall you’ll find him “at his usual spot” on the Boulevard and in the NW corner of Ford Stadium cheering them on!
I asked Mr. Foley if there was anything else he’d like to share of his time at Bradfield, and what he said, says it all! “Who ever would think that you could or would be doing something for 25 years straight? I never could have imagined I would be here this long! I now can’t imagine teaching anywhere else. Bradfield is a special place for me, and I realise that a majority of my adult life will have been spent here in the halls of this place. It honestly makes my head spin. I’m so proud to be a Bronco all this time of my professional career, and I’m so blessed to be a part of this wonderful place. Thank you all for sharing your children with us! I couldn’t imagine my life any other way!”
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