Avon Wins Best Communities for Music Education Award

Avon Community School Corporation has been honored with the Best Communities for Music Education designation from The NAMM Foundation for its outstanding commitment to music education. Now in its 25th year, the Best Communities for Music Education designation is awarded to districts that demonstrate outstanding achievement for providing music access and education to all students. 

To qualify for the Best Communities designation, ACSC 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 by school officials and reviewed by The Music Research Institute at the University of Kansas. 

“There’s a reason for the incredible attention our music programs have earned,” said Superintendent Dr. Scott Wyndham. “We have been intentional about building and sustaining a system and culture in our schools in which students can cultivate a love of music and performance. That enhances our community and contributes to our students’ academic success.” 

Avon Intermediate School East Music Teacher Karen Eglen said, “The NAMM Best Communities in Music Education Award shows how grounded Avon is in providing music experiences for our students. Regardless of the awards and accolades, our students leave high school with a passion and appreciation for music; that’s what Avon Music is all about.” 

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. In addition, 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. 

This is Avon's ninth award in the last 10 years.

Press Release