GGUSD Named Among Best in U.S. for Music Education

• Wednesday, April 7, 2021

Garden Grove Unified School District (GGUSD) has received the 2021 Best Communities for Music Education Award for outstanding achievement in providing music access and education to all students. 

This is the third year in a row that GGUSD has earned this prestigious national recognition, which was awarded to only five districts in Orange County, 19 districts across California and less than 700 districts across the nation.

“This is an exceptional accomplishment that reflects the hard work and dedication of our visual and performing arts teachers,” said Dina Nguyen, Board of Education trustee.  “Even with the challenges brought on by the pandemic, our teachers rose to the occasion to continue providing our students with an exceptional arts education.” 

This award from the NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Foundation recognizes that GGUSD is leading the way with best practices in music education opportunities as outlined in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The legislation recommends music and the arts as essential elements of a well-rounded education for all children.

GGUSD's Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) program is led by Coordinator Stacy Harris and is supported by 61 music teachers serving students TK-12 in instrumental, vocal, and general music, 40 secondary visual art teachers, 10 secondary theatre teachers, and six secondary dance teachers.

To qualify for the designation, GGUSD met criteria around music education funding, graduation requirements, music class participation, instruction time, facilities, support for the music program and community music-making programs. Responses were verified and reviewed by The Music Research Institute at the University of Kansas.

Research into music education continues to demonstrate educational/cognitive and social skill benefits for children who make music. After two years of music education, research found that participants showed more substantial improvements in how the brain processes speech and reading scores that 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.

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