Model Music Education Program

~ Conners Music teacher recieves national recognition for strings program

Salt Lake City, Utah ~

host of MENC: The National Association for Music Education, April 2006

Aerial view of the Rocky Mountains taken from the airplane window.

MENC: The National Association for Music Education Announces Results of Nationwide Search for Model Music Programs

Initiative Identified and Disseminated Information Regarding Best Practices and Innovative Techniques in Music Education Programs

RESTON, VA (March 2, 2006) √ MENC: The National Association for Music Education, as part of an initiative to spotlight model music education programs nationwide, announced that twelve programs have been selected by an MENC member review committee for Special Recognition. Each will receive a $1500 grant and an invitation to participate in a panel discussion on the programs at the MENC National Conference in Salt Lake City this April. MENC will also produce a publication highlighting the programs selected for special recognition as well as general aspects of the other submitted programs. Funding was provided by a U.S. Department of Education grant.

"The Model Music Program submissions were fascinating to read!" said Renee Westlake of Bozeman (MT) Public Schools, a past MENC National Executive Board member and part of the Model Music Programs review committee. "It was impressive to discover what a wide variety of excellent music programs this country has at all levels, from traditional ones to those molded to fit a unique population."

All types of programs were considered, from band to choir to general music, elementary to secondary, under-funded to highly-funded, large or small. Special attention was paid to programs from disadvantaged locations or situations. All submissions were posted online in a searchable database allowing teachers and administrators from around the country to learn from others≠ successes and apply the techniques to their own programs.

"The Model Music Programs project is a marvelous advocacy tool as well as an avenue to reward the wonderful, every day work of school districts and teachers that may not otherwise be noted at a national level," commented Westlake.

MENC received submissions from 45 states including Washington, DC. Out of 156 total submissions, the 12 programs selected were:

A.E. Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire, IL, Main Contact: Clark Chaffee

Conners/Emerson School, Bar Harbor, ME, Main Contact: Rebecca Edmondson

East Meadow School District, Westbury, NY, Main Contact: Abby Behr

East Ramapo Central School District, Spring Valley, NY, Main Contact: Gail Calisoff

Haley Elementary School, Fort Wayne, IN, Main Contact: Wendy Bloom

South Eastern School District, Fawn Grove, PA, Main Contact: Carl Barr

Nanuet School District, Nanuet, NY, Main Contact: Dr. Jack L. Gremli

Nora Davis Magnet School, Laurel, MS, Main Contact: Jodie Austin

Page Middle School, Page, AZ, Main Contact: Janice Greisch

Rutland City Public Schools, Rutland, VT, Main Contact: Glenn E. Giles

The Spurwink School: Roosevelt Program, South Portland, ME, Main Contact: Jeff Shaw

William Floyd School District, Mastic Beach, NY, Main Contact: Joseph Pergola