The district received the 2024 Best Music Education Community Award from the NAMM Foundation for the second consecutive year.
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Rye, N.Y. — Rye City Schools has been nationally recognized as a leader in music education by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) for the second year in a row.
Rye City School District has been designated a “Best Community for Music Education” by the NAMM Foundation for its commitment to music education. Now in its 25th year, the award bestows the Best Community for Music Education designation to school districts that have demonstrated outstanding achievements in providing music access and education to all students.
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To receive the Best Communities designation, districts answered detailed questions regarding funding, graduation requirements, music class participation, instructional time, facilities, support for music programs, and community music production programs. Responses were verified by school officials and reviewed by the University of Kansas Institute of Music.
“Music education plays an essential role in student development. It not only develops academic skills such as critical thinking, but also promotes social growth through teamwork and collaboration,” said Tyler Schwillian, Department of Music Coordinator. said. “This special designation reaffirms our commitment to providing inclusive and accessible music education for all students, creating opportunities for students to learn, create, and discover. We commend the incredible work of the RCSD music faculty, who are working harder than ever to bring the joy of music to life. ”
District officials said there are good reasons why music education is central to the curriculum. The district cited research that confirms that musical knowledge benefits students in unexpected ways throughout their lives.
After two years of music education, the researchers found that the participants showed significant improvements in the way their brains processed speech and musical scores, compared to their less involved peers, and that they were more likely to participate in the music. Not only are students more likely to graduate from high school, they are also more likely to attend college. Furthermore, children with musical training have better everyday listening skills than children with no musical training. Importantly, listening skills are closely related to recognizing speech in noisy backgrounds, paying attention, and retaining sounds.
Later in life, people who took music lessons as children show stronger neural processing of sounds. Young people, and even older people who haven't played a musical instrument for up to 50 years, show stronger neural processing compared to their peers. Social benefits include conflict resolution, teamwork skills, and learning how to give and receive constructive criticism.