Grammy Foundation Announces 2015 GRAMMY Signature Schools Semifinalists

The GRAMMY Foundation®(www.grammyfoundation.org) today announced that 120 schools nationwide have been selected as GRAMMY® Signature Schools semifinalists (www.grammyintheschools.com) for 2015. Created in 1998, the GRAMMY Signature Schools program recognizes top U.S. public high schools that are making an outstanding commitment to music education during an academic school year.

Each of the GRAMMY Signature Schools finalists will receive a custom award and a monetary grant to benefit its music program. The top programs are designated Gold recipients. The best program of the Gold recipients is designated as the National GRAMMY Signature School. The remaining schools are designated as GRAMMY Signature Schools. For schools that are economically underserved, the GRAMMY Foundation established the Enterprise Award to recognize the efforts these schools have made in music education. The GRAMMY Signature Schools program is made possible in part by the generous support of Converse, the Ford Motor Company Fund, the Hot Topic Foundation, Journeys, and RBC Capital Markets.

The GRAMMY Foundation has also established the GRAMMY Signature Schools Community Award, an extension of the GRAMMY Signature Schools program. Through our partnership withConverse, the Hot Topic Foundation, Journeys, and the RBC Foundation USA, the GRAMMY Foundation identifies deserving public high school music programs to receive the award and a $2,000 grant. To date, approximately $875,000 in grants have been distributed to more than 800 schools.

'Our GRAMMY Signature Schools program provides an ideal platform to raise awareness of public high schools across the country that are providing excellent music education programs for their students,' said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy® and the GRAMMY Foundation. 'It is also a much-needed resource for the schools that - in the face of serious economic challenges - are still able to provide a rigorous musical curriculum for their students. The GRAMMY Foundation is committed to arts education and believes in the long-lasting interdisciplinary benefits it provides for young people.'

In mid-March 2015, the GRAMMY Foundation will announce the finalists for the GRAMMY Signature Schools program. These schools will receive a custom award and a monetary grant ranging from $1,000 up to $10,000 to benefit their music program.

Image via Grammy Foundation official Twitter page.

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