RHS Band Director Makes Quarterfinals for National Music Teacher Award

Ridgewood High School educators are on a roll this month – first social studies Medha Kirtane was named by Princeton University as a distinguished school teacher, and now music teacher Jeff Haas has been named a quarterfinalist for a national music educator award.

More than 30,000 nominations from all 50 states were entered for the Music Educator Award, formed by the Grammy Foundation and the Recording Academy. And Haas is among the 217 music teachers in the running for the title.

The winner will fly to Los Angeles to accept the award, attend the Grammy Awards, and receive $10,000. The winner's school is also in line for matching music grants, the foundation said in a news release. Semifinalists for the award will be named in August.

The Music Educator Award was established to "recognize current educators (K - college, public and private schools) who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the field of music education and who demonstrate a commitment to the broader cause of maintaining music education in the schools."

Haas, the director of the concert band, wind ensemble, and jazz lab ensemble, is one of the country's most decorated high school band directors. According to the RHS Bands website, he was awarded the Disney American Teacher Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Performing Arts in 1998. Haas was also named the "North Jersey Music Educator of the Year" by William Paterson University.

The RHS marching band won two USSBA championships in 1992 and 1997 – and has also won several state championships.

A professional saxaphonist, Haas lives in Glen Rock