Avon Lake Receives Best Communities Music Honors

The Avon Lake City School District has been honored with the Best Communities for Music Education designation from The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Foundation for its outstanding commitment to music education.

Avon Lake is one of just 47 districts in Ohio to earn the award and one of 754 honored throughout the country.

Now in its 21st year, the Best Communities for Music Education award program recognizes outstanding efforts by teachers, administrators, parents, students and community leaders who have made music education part of a well-rounded education. Designations are made to districts and schools that demonstrate an exceptionally high commitment and access to music education, according to information from NAMM.

“The Avon Lake City School District is proud to be included in the elite group that the NAMM Foundation recognizes for music excellence as a community and as a school district,” said Robert Scott, Avon Lake City Schools superintendent. “As a school district, we embrace educating the whole child. From preschool through grade 12, music plays an important role in the educational and social emotional learning of all of our students. Our outstanding staff of music educators have created a music culture in Avon Lake that extends beyond the school day and beyond the school years. From that first musical note learned at 5-years-old, to singing in a cathedral in New York City or playing your instrument in Chicago when you are in high school, the experiences make for better students and happier people.”

To qualify for the designation, the Avon Lake City Schools answered detailed questions about funding, graduation requirements, music class participation, instruction time, facilities, support for the music program, and community music-making programs. Responses were verified with school officials and reviewed by The Music Research Institute at the University of Kansas.

The most recent year the district also received the designation was 2016.

The NAMM Foundation is a nonprofit supported in part by the National Association of Music Merchants and its approximately 10,300 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.

For more information about The NAMM Foundation, go to nammfoundation.org.