The NAMM Foundation’s 15th annual Best Communities for Music Education (BCME) survey is open for participation by school districts and schools across the country. The survey acknowledges and celebrates U.S. schools and districts for their support and commitment to comprehensive music education in schools. Nearly 2,000 schools and school districts participated in the survey last year.
Teachers, parents, school administrators and board members are invited to complete the 2014 BCME survey online now through Friday, Jan. 17, 2014. Past designees report that receiving a Best Communities designation improved their ability to preserve and advance their schools’ music education programs amid budget cuts.
"The Best Communities for Music Education designation gave our district the opportunity to shine the spotlight on our outstanding music teachers, students and community partners,” says Heather Crocker, Director of Communications for Blaine County School District in Idaho. “In the true spirit of education, our music teachers passed the recognition on to their students and community partners. Programs like Best Communities are critical to the future success of music education."
Last March the NAMM Foundation designated 307 school districts as Best Communities for Music Education, and 66 individual schools earned the 2013 SupportMusic Merit Award for providing students with access to comprehensive music education.
The BCME program requires each school and district to detail the particulars of its access to music instruction. Responses are reviewed by researchers at The Institute for Educational Research and Public Service of Lawrence, KS (an affiliate of the University of Kansas) and the NAMM Foundation. The surveys – one for districts and one for individual schools - can be downloaded for review.
In conducting the annual BCME survey, the NAMM Foundation is joined by advisory organizations in the fields of music and education: Americans for the Arts, The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, League of American Orchestras, The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, Music for All, Music Teachers National Association, National Guild For Community Arts Education, Yamaha Corporation of America, Young Audiences and VH1 Save The Music Foundation. The 2014 BCME designees will be announced on Mar. 18, 2014.
