April 7, 2021
Nationally, Plano ISD is one of 686 school districts selected as a 2021 Best Communities for Music Education. This designation, now in its 22nd year, is sponsored by the NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Foundation. The Best Communities designation recognizes outstanding efforts by teachers, administrators, parents, students and community leaders who have made music education part of a well-rounded education and that demonstrate an exceptionally high commitment and access to music education.
"We are proud of this recognition for our Plano ISD music community. It is an affirmation of the strong support provided by our Board of Trustees, campus administration, the students and parents involved in our programs and the community at large. The resources dedicated to our fine arts programs, including music, allow our student to experience quality instruction and outstanding performance opportunities at every level. We thank the NAMM Foundation for recognizing the support our community provides to our students and their talented teachers,” said Director of Fine Arts 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, researchers 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. Significantly, 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 even older adults who have not played an instrument for up to 50 years show enhanced neural processing compared to their peers. Not to mention, social benefits include conflict resolution, teamwork skills, and how to give and receive constructive criticism.
