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Mar. 27, 2019 - Best Communities for Music Education 2019
As one of the 623 school districts nationwide, Plano ISD has been honored with a Best Communities for Music Education 2019 designation from the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Foundation for our exceptionally high commitment to music education.
For 20 years, the Best Communities for Music Education designation has been awarded to districts that demonstrate outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music access and education to all students. To qualify for the Best Communities designation, Plano ISD answered detailed questions about funding, graduation requirements, music class participation, instructional time, facilities and support for the music programs. Responses were verified with school officials and reviewed by The Music Research Institute at the University of Kansas.
"We thank the NAMM Foundation for recognizing the support our community provides to our students and teachers, and we are thankful for the support provided by our Board, campus administration, students and parents. The resources dedicated to our fine arts programs allow students to experience quality instruction and outstanding performance opportunities at every level,” said Director of Fine Arts and Special Academic Programs Kathy Kuddes.
Research into music education continues to demonstrate educational/cognitive and social skill benefits for children who make music. After two years of music education, research found that participants showed more substantial improvements in how the brain processes speech and reading scores than their less-involved peers and that students who are involved in music are not only more likely to graduate high school, but also to attend college as well. Everyday listening skills are stronger in musically-trained children than in those without music training. Listening skills are closely tied to the ability to: perceive speech in a noisy background, pay attention, and keep sounds in memory. Later in life, individuals who took music lessons as children show stronger neural processing of sound; young adults and older adults, who have not played an instrument for up to 50 years, show enhanced neural processing compared to their peers. Social benefits include conflict resolution, teamwork skills and how to give and receive constructive criticism.
About The NAMM Foundation
The NAMM Foundation is a nonprofit supported in part by the National Association of Music Merchants and its approximately 10,400 members around the world. The foundation advances active participation in music making across the lifespan by supporting scientific research, philanthropic giving and public service programs.