Choir Teacher Published in Podium

Two years ago, Upper School vocal teacher and Choir Director Christian Jackson attended a workshop with Institute for Social and Emotional Learning to focus on what social-emotional learning (SEL) could look like in an Upper School advisory. Jackson found the experience to be deeply inspiring and transformational, introducing him to the concept that “connection is content.” He shared, “For much of my early career, I thought I should connect with my students and then dig into the ‘actual’ content of music teaching. IFSEL helped me clarify those thoughts and recognize that connecting with students is just as important as starting new music or introducing new music theory concepts.”

Jackson began pursuing his master’s degree through the Vandercook College of Music in February 2026, and he decided to shape his final project around the idea that student leadership and SEL work enhance each other. He witnessed the growth of student leadership in his Advanced Choral Ensemble last school year and even more with Concert Choir this year. He noticed that students guided much of the work around group connection, camaraderie, and cohesion, so he considered the question, “How can I continue helping students take this over in a more official capacity?”

Considering his current workload and almost constant fatigue, Jackson began crafting a reimagined student leadership team that might help him thrive. He invited students to play leadership roles within both of his Upper School choirs, assisting with daily classroom tasks and helping manage morale and well-being. To date, these students have changed the daily flow of operations in classes. Some have helped by leading the second half of rehearsals, modeling Jackson’s methods from the first half. Others have participated in logistics such as taking attendance and distributing sheet music, uniforms, and the like. Still others focus their efforts on the creative environment, welcoming new singers, planning team-building activities, and keeping a pulse on group morale to ensure everyone feels included.

Parker congratulates Jackson on this accomplishment and his newly appointed student leaders for expanding their roles as learners and leaders in the school’s vocal music program.

His article is available on page 2 here.