Salem Public Schools Music Educator Jabari Tovar ‘12 Named Recipient of Bluecoats Fellowship
Mr. Tovar earns paid residency with prestigious program; will attend Drum Corps International World Championships
SALEM (Apr. 25, 2025) – Jabari Tovar, a music educator and member of the Salem High School Class of 2012, received and accepted an invitation to the Bluecoats Fellowship, an honors program for early-career educators in the marching arts, the Bluecoats announced Mar. 26.
Mr. Tovar, who specializes in percussion and assists with the SHS Marching Band and Color Guard, was one of six music educators nationwide to be selected to the Bluecoats, a world class drum and bugle corps based in Canton, Ohio, which helps improve and expand access to the culture of marching band, color guard, and drum corps design.
“It is the top of the line of the activity,” Mr. Tovar said. “Over the last decade, the Bluecoats have pushed the art into what the marching arts can look like. The opportunity to work with these people is going to be an opportunity of a lifetime. To be recognized on a national level is very humbling and overwhelming.”
The Bluecoats Fellowship received a record 83 applications this year.
Bluecoats Fellows receive a paid residency at Bluecoats Spring Training as well as a mentorship with a member of its design team. Through the mentorship, educators have the opportunity to grow their skills and receive guidance in their work in the marching arts to bring back to their respective schools.
Mr. Tovar will spend the entirety of the month of June in Canton, then fly to Indianapolis in August to attend the Drum Corps International World Championships at Lucas Oil Stadium.
“I am excited to go and learn and make these connections, but I’m more excited to bring it back to Salem and make it our own,” Mr. Tovar said.
The SHS Marching Band and Color Guard both enjoyed a milestone school year which saw each win New England School Bands Association (NESBA) championships:
- In early November, the SHS Marching Band captured the NESBA Division 3 state championship, following a near-flawless regular season of competitions.
- In late March, the SHS Color Guard won the 2025 NESBA Color Guard Championship, which capped a regular season in which it placed first in five NESBA competitions during the winter.
While each program already performs at a high level, Mr. Tovar is excited to push both to new heights.
“I’ll be showing our music planned for the marching band,” he noted. “My goal is to take it to the next level. I don’t want to be like other schools. I want to continue to carve out our identity and do what’s best for Salem kids.”
The honor is the latest of several achieved by Mr. Tovar in recent years. A 2016 graduate of Salem State University, he was one of four SSU alumni to receive the Northeast Regional Educators Hall of Fame Rising Star Award in December of 2023. In February 2023, Mr. Tovar was named among Yamaha Music’s 40 Under 40.
Other Bluecoats 2025 Fellowship recipients included:
- Hattie Bartlett, Manager for Heat Wave Drum and Bugle Corps in Safety Harbor, Florida
- Mathew Aaron Campbell, Oklahoma-based composer and educator
- Aaron Christianson, Technical Theater Educator at The Prairie School, Windpoint, Wis.
- Brian Simão Rosa, New-Jersey-based educator
- Gregory Stringer, Educator, Auburn H.S., Auburn, Ala., Founder of Drumscape Designs
The honor aligns well with the District’s 2023-26 Strategic Plan, particularly with its core tenet of empowering educators.
About Salem Public Schools
Salem Public Schools is an urban public school district in Salem, Massachusetts. Salem is a small, diverse city with a proud maritime and immigrant history. Our leaders and our teachers are all passionate about education and understand the urgency of improving student achievement with equity and social-emotional needs as the lens we view all of our work through. We respect and value the racial, cultural, and linguistic diversity of our students and their families, and have a strong commitment to the Salem community. Salem Public Schools staff serve all of our students, regardless of ability or language. Salem Public Schools enrolls approximately 4,000 students across its eleven schools.
