Paducah Public Schools has been honored with the 2024 “Best Communities for Music Education” designation from The NAMM Foundation for its outstanding commitment to music education. This is the eighth year in a row that Paducah Public Schools has received this designation.
Kentucky districts that received this honor for 2024 include Bowling Green Independent Schools, Boyd County Public Schools (Ashland), Jessamine County Schools (Nicholasville), and Owensboro Public Schools.
Now in its 25th year, 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. To qualify for the Best Communities designation, Paducah Public Schools 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.
"Paducah Public Schools is blessed to have an extraordinary group of teachers who go above and beyond to instill the love of music into the students they serve each and every day," said Morgan Elementary music teacher Kimberly Davidson. "We not only work in our individual schools but are often working collaboratively with projects in each other's schools to help make our overall music program the best it can be. I believe this is what helps make Paducah Public Schools one of the best in the country. We are the epitome of a team effort."
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.
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.