Homewood City Schools Named a “Best Community for Musical Kids”
Nationwide Survey Finds School Districts Committed to Music Education as a Conduit for Success in School and in Life
Carlsbad, Calif. (February 27, 2007)- For the eighth year in a row, a survey conducted by a partnership of leading music and educational organizations has identified the "Best 100 Communities for Music Education in America," and the 2007 list includes Homewood City Schools for its unwavering commitment to school-based music programs for the second time. The survey was sponsored by the NAMM Foundation and its American Music Conference (AMC) division that work to promote the benefits of active participation in music and music education. The roster of schools is listed below.
According to the results of the 'Best 100' survey, repeat recipients of this prestigious distinction cite increased enrollment in and funding for school music programs. While music education has been linked to higher SAT scores, math grades and future success in life, the survey also found that many students hailing from a 'Best 100' community have continued their musical pursuits profes- sionally as educators, or playing for renowned sym- phonies, opera houses, orchestras and on Broadway. Several former students have even become acclaimed recording artists, including Outkast, Bob Seeger, Iggy Pop, Tanya Tucker and Isaac Hayes.
Thousands of teachers, school and district administrators, school board members, parents and community leaders, representing communities in all 50 states, participated in the Web-based survey. The 2007 roster includes school districts from 31 states that are committed to quality music education programs and providing access to music educa- tion. The districts were measured across a variety of pro- gram support, curricular and programmatic criteria. Because the criteria in the survey are measured propor- tionally, large communities and small ones are able to par- ticipate on an equal footing.
"Arts are designated as core subjects within the federal No Child Left Behind Act, and the districts that participated in the 'Best 100' survey, and those who are being recognized here today, know that music education is connected to suc- cess in school and in life," said Mary Luehrsen, Director of Public Affairs and Government Relations for NAMM. "The results of this year's survey found that music pro- grams receive support from many parts of a community-
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teachers, administrators, boards of education and commu- nity members, including local business owners. Parents, however, are the strongest force in assuring that young people have access to music as part of a complete educa- tion." Luehrsen encourages parents who are committed to music and arts education for their children to become active locally by supporting efforts to be sure that all chil- dren have equal access. Support for community-based advocacy is available at
www.supportmusic.com.
Participants in the survey answered detailed questions about funding, enrollment, student-teacher ratios, music class participation, instruction time, facilities, support for the music program, private music lesson participation, and other factors in their communities' music education pro- gram. The responses were verified with district officials, and the sponsoring organizations reviewed the data.
According to Kara Ireland D'Ambrosio, a music teacher at four-time designee Woodside School District in Calif., the distinction led to increased funding for the music program and built greater recognition of the program within the community. Woodside's music students are often asked to perform at community events and celebrations.
Other districts have reported that becoming a 'Best 100 Community' has helped to: foster additional partnerships with local businesses and colleges; energize teachers to make further enhancements to the programs; and raise community and school pride. In leading the annual survey, AMC is joined by a partner- ship of leading organizations in the fields of music and education: The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation (
www.mhopus.org); The Metropolitan Opera Guild (
www.operaed.org); Music for (
www.musicforall.org); Music
All Teachers National
Association (
www.mtna.org); NAMM, the International Music Products Association (
www.namm.org); National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts (
www.national-
guild.org); National School Boards (
www.nsba.org); Yamaha Corporation of
Association America
(
www.yamaha.com) and VH1 Save The Music Foundation (
www.vh1savethemusic.com).The survey was conducted by Perseus Development Corp. of Braintree, Mass.
For more information about the nationwide music educa- tion survey and the organizations that sponsored it, call Jodi Burack, 914-798-7132/
jburack@giles.com.
August 2007
News Features
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