Best Communities for Music Education (BCME) is a signature program of The NAMM Foundation that recognizes and celebrates school districts and schools for their support and commitment to music education and efforts to assure access to music for all students as part of a well-rounded education.
Anaheim Elementary School District [AESD], a first time BCME recipient from Southern California, is one of 623 school districts to receive the BCME designation in 2019. The district’s goal is to provide access to high-quality music education that enriches the lives of students, parents and educational community.
“Here at Anaheim Elementary, music education is a fundamental and essential part of student's learning experience,” said Mark Anderson, a music educator in the district.
“We are grateful for the tremendous support [from] all of our community partners such as The NAMM Foundation, The Disneyland Resort, VH1 Save The Music Foundation and Little Kids Rock,” he said. “[These partnerships] allow AESD to have one of the only elementary music education programs in the country where all 5th and 6th grade students learn to play up to 6 instruments during the school day.”
AESD started to pursue music education for all their students 5 years ago.
“Spearheaded by a team of district leaders and community stakeholders, the goal was to create a music program that would provide access for all 16,750 students in 23 elementary schools,” said Anderson. “The BCME award validates the mission and work that the district started to pursue years ago.”
School districts and schools across the United States are encouraged to apply for a 2020 BCME designation. The survey opens in October 2019. A complete list of school districts and schools receiving a BCME designation in 2019 can be found here: BCME Award | SupportMusic Merit Award.