GRAMMY FOUNDATION® ANNOUNCES 2015 GRAMMY® SIGNATURE SCHOOLS SEMIFINALISTS U.S. High Schools in the Running for Grants for Music Excellence Our Coverage Sponsored by The Westin Georgetown, Washington D.C.
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The GRAMMY Foundation®(www.grammyfoundation.org) today announced that 120 schools nationwide have been selected as GRAMMY® Signature Schools semifinalists (www.grammyintheschools.com) for 2015. Created in 1998, the GRAMMY Signature Schools program recognizes top U.S. public high schools that are making an outstanding commitment to music education during an academic school year.
Each of the GRAMMY Signature Schools finalists will receive a custom award and a monetary grant to benefit its music program. The top programs are designated Gold recipients. The bestprogram of the Gold recipients is designated as the National GRAMMY Signature School. The remaining schools are designated as GRAMMY Signature Schools. For schools that are economically underserved, the GRAMMY Foundation established the Enterprise Award to recognize the efforts these schools have made in music education. The GRAMMY Signature Schools program is made possible in part by the generous support of Converse, the Ford Motor Company Fund, the Hot Topic Foundation, Journeys, and RBC Capital Markets.
The GRAMMY Foundation has also established the GRAMMY Signature Schools Community Award, an extension of the GRAMMY Signature Schools program. Through our partnership withConverse, the Hot Topic Foundation, Journeys, and the RBC Foundation USA, the GRAMMY Foundation identifies deserving public high school music programs to receive the award and a $2,000 grant. To date, approximately $875,000 in grants have been distributed to more than 800 schools.
"Our GRAMMY Signature Schools program provides an ideal platform to raise awareness of public high schools across the country that are providing excellent music education programs for their students," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy® and the GRAMMY Foundation. "It is also a much-needed resource for the schools that — in the face of serious economic challenges — are still able to provide a rigorous musical curriculum for their students. The GRAMMY Foundation is committed to arts education and believes in the long-lasting interdisciplinary benefits it provides for young people."
In mid-March 2015, the GRAMMY Foundation will announce the finalists for the GRAMMY Signature Schools program. These schools will receive a custom award and a monetary grant ranging from $1,000 up to $10,000 to benefit their music program.
2015 GRAMMY Signature Schools Semifinalists:
Academy of Music at Hamilton High School – Los Angeles
Allen High School – Allen, Texas
Allendale High School – Allendale, Mich.
Antelope High School – Antelope, Calif.
Arizona School for the Arts – Phoenix
Ashland High School – Ashland, Wis.
Atherton High School – Louisville, Ky.
Ballard High School – Louisville, Ky.
Batavia High School – Batavia, Ill.
Bellefonte Area High School – Bellefonte, Pa.
Bergen County Academies – Hackensack, N.J.
Big Foot High School – Walworth, Wis.
Biloxi High School – Biloxi, Miss.
Blue Ridge High School – Greer, S.C.
Blue Valley Northwest High School – Overland Park, Kan.
Boston Latin School – Boston
Brainerd High School – Brainerd, Minn.
Canton High School – Canton, Conn.
Chelmsford High School – Chelmsford, Mass.
Chugiak High School – Chugiak, Alaska
Colonel Richardson High School – Federalsburg, Md.
Coral Gables Senior High School – Coral Gables, Fla.
David Douglas High School – Portland, Ore.
Davis Senior High School – Davis, Calif.
DeLand High School – DeLand, Fla.
Delavan-Darien High School – Delavan, Wis.
Desert Mountain High School – Scottsdale, Ariz.
Desert Vista High School – Phoenix
Division Avenue High School – Levittown, N.Y.
Dover Eyota High School – Eyota, Minn.
Dulaney High School – Timonium, Md.
Edinburg North High School – Edinburg, Texas
El Camino High School – South San Francisco, Calif.
Eldred Junior Senior High School – Eldred, N.Y.
Elk Grove High School – Elk Grove Village, Ill.
Esperanza High School – Anaheim, Calif.
Fairfield Senior High School – Fairfield, Ohio
Fairview High School – Boulder, Colo.
Fayetteville-Manlius High School – Manlius, N.Y.
Fern Creek High School – Louisville, Ky.
Firelands High School – Oberlin, Ohio
Fitzgerald High School – Warren, Mich.
Flower Mound High School – Flower Mound, Texas
Floyd Central High School – Floyds Knobs, Ind.
Fox Chapel Area High School – Pittsburgh
Frank Sinatra School of the Arts High School – Queens, N.Y.
Freeport High School – Freeport, Ill.
Garden City High School – Garden City, N.Y.
General Douglas MacArthur High School – Levittown, N.Y.
General McLane High School – Edinboro, Pa.
George Washington High School – San Francisco
Girard Academic Music Program – Philadelphia
Grandview High School – Aurora, Colo.
Grangeville High School – Grangeville, Idaho
Green Valley High School – Henderson, Nev.
Harrison High School – Harrison, N.Y.
Harry D. Jacobs High School – Algonquin, Ill.
Herricks High School – New Hyde Park, N.Y.
Hidalgo Early College High School – Hidalgo, Texas
Huntingdon Area High School – Huntingdon, Pa.
Huntington High School – Huntington, N.Y.
Iowa City West High School – Iowa City, Iowa
Irvine High School – Irvine, Calif.
John Glenn High School – New Concord, Ohio
John L. Miller Great Neck North High School – Great Neck, N.Y.
John S. Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School – Augusta, Ga.
Johnson City High School – Johnson City, N.Y.
Kamiak High School – Mukilteo, Wash.
Kentwood High School – Covington, Wash.
Lakeview High School – Cortland, Ohio
Lancaster High School – Lancaster, N.Y.
Lebanon High School – Lebanon, Ohio
Liberty High School – Liberty, N.Y.
Long Beach High School – Lido Beach, N.Y.
McCallum Fine Arts Academy – Austin, Texas
Metea Valley High School – Aurora, Ill.
Mount Eden High School – Hayward, Calif.
Nederland High School – Nederland, Colo.
Niles North High School – Skokie, Ill.
Niskayuna High School – Niskayuna, N.Y.
North Allegheny Senior High School – Wexford, Pa.
North Buncombe High School – Weaverville, N.C.
North Springs Charter High School – Sandy Springs, Ga.
Northern High School – Owings, Md.
Northville High School – Northville, Mich.
Northwood High School – Irvine, Calif.
Overton High School – Memphis, Tenn.
Paul D. Schreiber High School – Port Washington, N.Y.
Penn High School – Mishawaka, Ind.
Pioneer High School – Ann Arbor, Mich.
Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts School – Pittsburgh
Plymouth Whitemarsh High School – Plymouth Meeting, Pa.
Princeton High School – Princeton, Ill.
Pulaski High School – Pulaski, Wis.
Red River High School – Grand Forks, N.D.
Renaissance Arts Academy – Los Angeles
Ridgewood High School – Ridgewood, N.J.
Ripon High School – Ripon, Wis.
Rockford High School – Rockford, Mich.
Rocky Mountain High School – Fort Collins, Colo.
Smithtown High School East – St. James, N.Y.
Smithtown High School West – Smithtown, N.Y.
Southington High School – Southington, Conn.
Spring High School – Spring, Texas
State College Area High School – State College, Pa.
Tesoro High School – Las Flores, Calif.
Toledo School for the Arts – Toledo, Ohio
Trinity High School – Euless, Texas
Underwood High School – Underwood, Minn.
Warren Central High School – Indianapolis
Washington Community High School – Washington, Ill.
Waubonsie Valley High School – Aurora, Ill.
Waukesha North High School – Waukesha, Wis.
West Genesee High School – Camillus, N.Y.
West Port High School – Ocala, Fla.
Westlake High School – Westlake Village, Calif.
William A. Shine Great Neck South High School – Great Neck, N.Y.
Williamsport Area High School – Williamsport, Pa.
Woodbridge High School – Irvine, Calif.
York Community High School – Elmhurst, Ill.
The selection process for GRAMMY Signature Schools begins each year in August when the GRAMMY Foundation mails notification to more than 20,000 public high schools from districts large and small, urban, suburban and rural, requesting information about each school's music program. Applications are completed and submitted online in October at
www.grammyintheschools.com. After the applications are scored, finalists are identified and asked to submit additional documentation, such as recordings of school concerts, sample concert programs and repertoire, which is then reviewed by an independent blue-ribbon committee of top music educators and professionals to determine the schools that merit GRAMMY Signature School status.
The GRAMMY Foundation was established in 1988 to cultivate the understanding, appreciation and advancement of the contribution of recorded music to American culture. The Foundation accomplishes this mission through programs and activities that engage the music industry and cultural community as well as the general public. The Foundation works in partnership year-round with its founder, The Recording Academy®, to bring national attention to important issues such as the value and impact of music and arts education and the urgency of preserving our rich cultural heritage. In recognition of the significant role of teachers in shaping their students' musical experiences, the GRAMMY Foundation and The Recording Academy partnered to present the first Music Educator Award in 2014. Open to current U.S. music teachers in kindergarten through college, the second annual Music Educator Award will be given out during GRAMMY Week 2015. For more information on the Music Educator Award, please visitgrammymusicteacher.com. For more information about the Foundation, please visitwww.grammyfoundation.org. For breaking news and exclusive content, please like "GRAMMY in the Schools®" on Facebook at www.facebook.com/grammyintheschools, follow the GRAMMY Foundation on Twitter @GRAMMYFdn at www.twitter.com/GRAMMYFdn and join us on Instagram @GRAMMYFdn at www.instagram.com/GRAMMYfdn.
