Guilford County Schools recognized for the 5th year as one of the Best Communities for Music Education

GCS Receives National Recognition for Fifth Consecutive Year

GCS was honored by The NAMM Foundation for outstanding commitment to music education

Greensboro, N.C. – Guilford County Schools (GCS) is once again designated one of the “Best Communities for Music Education” by the NAMM Foundation for commitment to music education. The designation is awarded to districts that demonstrate outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music access and education to all students as part of a well-rounded education.

The designation is awarded to districts based on their commitment to standards, access to music instruction, and music education funding and staffing.

“We are fortunate to have strong support for arts education, both in our school district and our community,” said Leigh Ann Little, GCS Coordinator of Fine Arts. “Our partnerships with dozens of organizations, including public, private, non-profit and for-profit, bring in the equivalent of $500,000 per year to fully engage our students in arts education.”

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 to attend college as well. 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.

“Music education not only opens up more of the world to our students, but studies show it helps improve their performance in other academic areas as well,” said Little. “I am so proud of the work we do here in GCS, and grateful it’s being recognized on a national scale.”

About Guilford County Schools 

Guilford County Schools, the third largest school district in North Carolina and the 50th largest of more than 14,000 in the United States, serves more than 70,000 PK-12 students at 126 schools. With approximately 9,800 employees, GCS works in partnership with parents, businesses, colleges and the community to deliver an education that connects student interests and skills with the careers and economy of our future here and around the world. We provide educational choices to meet individual student needs in a culturally diverse citizenship and new opportunities to help our students Soar to Greatness. For more information, visit the district’s website at www.gcsnc.com.

 About The NAMM Foundation

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, please visit www.nammfoundation.org.