Bryan ISD Named One of the
Best Communities for Music Education
Information Courtesy of Bryan ISD
Bryan ISD is receiving more national recognition for its exceptional fine arts programs. The district has been named one of the 2021 Best Communities for Music Education by the NAMM Foundation.
The Best Communities for Music Education designation is awarded to districts that demonstrate outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music access and education to all students.
“We’re honored that the NAMM Foundation recognizes the excellence of the music programs in Bryan ISD,” said Bryan ISD Superintendent Dr. Christie Whitbeck. “This, along with being named a District of Distinction by the Texas Art Educators Association only further reinforces the dedication in Bryan ISD to high-quality Fine Arts and to ensuring that when students receive a Bryan ISD education, they have more choices, more opportunity.”
This prestigious recognition means that Bryan ISD excels in the areas of supporting music programs, instruction time, music class participation, facilities, graduation requirements, music program funding and community outreach.
“The Best Communities for Music Education award from the NAMM Foundation is very special for Bryan ISD because it is an acknowledgment of the support for music education from our district leadership, the board of trustees, and the entire Bryan community,” said Pat Corbett, Bryan ISD Director of Fine Arts. “It’s such an honor for our teachers and students to have received this award.”
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. 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.
About Bryan ISD
Bryan ISD is the largest school district in the Brazos Valley with more than 15,800 students. Bryan ISD offers world-class academics and programs, including being the only school district in the Brazos Valley to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program and the AP Capstone Diploma Program, the only nationally certified STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) middle school and intermediate school with the Odyssey Program, the highly advanced Inquire Program in grades 5-8 offering Chinese as a foreign language, dual-language English-Spanish education K-12, one of 10 regional Career & Technical Education Complexes in Texas, nationally recognized FFA programs, the exclusive District of Distinction from the Texas Art Educators Association, awarded to only 42 school districts in Texas, and the Best Communities for Music Education recognition from the NAMM Foundation, along with an award-winning Fine Arts program and championship-winning athletics. For more information about Bryan ISD, please visit www.bryanisd.org/growwithus
About The NAMM Foundation
The NAMM Foundation is a nonprofit supported in part by the National Association of Music Merchants and its approximately 10,400 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.