School of the Arts Foundation Board Member Josephine Bayard is an avid supporter of the Dreyfoos School of the Arts. A yoga instructor, Josephine joined the Board of Directors in 2008 after teaching yoga to the staff in the dance building. “I was impressed by the teachers and the dance students I saw weekly. The energy, commitment, and talents of these young students in particular were a compelling reason to become involved. I began dancing at age 4 and dance has always been a passion for me.”

Now on the Board for her 7th year, Josephine’s passion and familiarity with the other art areas at Dreyfoos has grown. “The Prism concert this year at the Kravis was the best one yet. It is astonishing to watch over 360 students gracefully work together to perform for 90 minutes with only a day to rehearse at the hall. The Board is devoted to the Patterson's for their fourth year of supporting this event.”

Josephine feels it is important to support Dreyfoos through the Foundation because she has seen how the combination of arts and academics nurtures a student to have a more balanced life. “The ability for the Foundation to provide many additional services, such as college scholarships, and meeting different "wish list" needs of each department helps bring a public high school into another dimension. 99 to 100 percent of seniors graduate each year and 97 percent go on to attend college. Last year, the Foundation was able to provide $1.7 million to support the various programs at DSOA.”

Always eager to help engage others to support the school, Josephine has recently joined the Committee for the Foundation Guild Musical Luncheons, which introduce guests to the amazing talent the students at Dreyfoos possess, as well as the 25th Anniversary Gala Committee. The Gala committee has been hard at work to bring to life an evening that will showcase some of Dreyfoos’ acclaimed alumni and gifted students in an all-encompassing performance.

“The opportunity to share a vignette of a dance, piano, orchestra, theatre, and jazz during the course of the evening is a wonderful opportunity for people in our community to see these talented students perform and an incentive for these guests to become more involved with the Dreyfoos School in some way. There are many ways one can become involved as a volunteer or become a Board Member.”

Alongside yoga and her involvement with Dreyfoos, Josephine is also busy as a volunteer Guardian Ad Litem (GAL). “I am court appointed to advocate for the needs of children who may have been abused, removed from the home, or abandoned. I visit each child a couple of times a month, work with the therapist, the social worker, GAL attorney and work to be sure each child is receiving whatever services are needed and follow up to see that services are in place.” Here at the Foundation, we consider Josephine an appointed advocate for Dreyfoos, too.