For the fifth consecutive year, the National Association of Music Merchants Foundation (NAMM) has awarded the Wauwatosa School District with its Best Communities for Music Education Award. Now in its 25th year, the Best Communities for Music Education award recognizes teachers, administrators, parents, students and community leaders who provide music access and make music part of a well-rounded education for children.
“We are thrilled to once again receive this tremendous honor from the NAMM Foundation,” said Dr. Demond Means, Superintendent. “This designation is a reflection of our talented music faculty, the dedication of our students and the deep investment in the music community from our families. Our music education program continues to be a point of pride for our educational community.”
The Wauwatosa School District encourages students to get involved in music at an early age. Students in fourth grade can begin participating in choir and orchestra, and the option to participate in band is offered in fifth grade. In sixth grade, world music is offered as an additional musical elective, followed by contemporary music and culture in seventh grade and music and media in eighth grade. At the high school level, students can take part in concert band, choir and orchestra, digital music production, jazz ensemble, vocal jazz ensemble, chanteurs, chamber choir, symphonic band and symphony orchestra.
To qualify for the Best Communities designation, Wauwatosa School District staff 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.
Faculty members who teach music classes in the Wauwatosa School District include Christina Beaupre, Melissa Becker, Phillip Bregant, Tyler Burmeister, Amanda Frier, Loni Gornick, Michael Hayden, Tyler Hull, Alexander Hunt, Andrew Jacobson, Nicholas Jelich, Tyler Kraft, Brett Kuehn, Mackenzie Laska, Jennifer Lato, Noah Manke, Sarah Melcher, Susan Merriman, Andrew Pforr, Reik Pyatt, Lauren Roznowski-Hayden, Loree Simuncak, Rebecca Thompson, Wendy Traeger, William Ulrich, Elizabeth Updike, and Mark Wampfler.