For the eighth straight year, Forney ISD has been honored with the BestCommunities for Music Education designation from The National Association of MusicMerchants (NAMM) Foundation for its outstanding commitment to music education. The BestCommunities for Music Education designation is awarded to districts that demonstrate outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music access and education to all students.
To qualify for the Best Communities designation, the District 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 with school officials and reviewed by The Music Research Institute at the University of Kansas.
“It is incredible that Forney ISD has received this honor for eight straight years,” said Mario Luna, the Director of Fine Arts for Forney ISD. “There are 738 school districts across the country, 75 Texas districts and 27 Dallas/Fort Worth districts. To be selected as a Best Community in Music Education from all of those is an outstanding achievement! This award would not be possible if not for the music educators that work with our students day in and day out.”
The music directors, assistant directors and music teachers across the District continue to find ways to provide outstanding music education programs.
“Our continued success comes from the fact that the Forney ISD administration, the Forney ISD Board of Trustees and the community of Forney provide outstanding support,” Luna added. “We have extremely talented students that we are honored to work with every day and they never cease to amaze us!”
Since the passage by Congress in 2015 of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). ESSA provides designated funding for well-rounded educational opportunities through Title IV Part A Student Academic Success and Achievement grants. NAMM Foundation research has revealed that these grants are being widely used by school districts to address instructional gaps in access to music and arts education.
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.
