Alexandria Area Educator Named Finalist For Grammy Award

MOUNT VERNON, VA – An Alexandria area music teacher has been nominated for a Grammy award, the school system announced.

Al Rodriguez, a music teacher at Mount Vernon High School, is one of 10 finalists still in the running for the 2027 Music Educator Grammy. The winner, who will be announced early next year, will be chosen from among this list of 10. The finalists were chosen from an initial pool of 2,000 teachers that was slowly whittled down to a final 10.

Rodriguez joined Mount Vernon High School in 2017, according to a release from Fairfax County Public Schools. FCPS highlighted his work in 2022, when, to help students rebound from the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic, he worked with his students and young composer Selena Ryan to create and perform an original piece of music by and about the Mount Vernon High School chorus, with all of its varied abilities and challenges. The piece was premiered by the student orchestra.

The Music Educator Grammy Award was created in 2014 to recognize current educators from kindergarten through college who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the field of music education and who are furthering the cause of maintaining music education in schools.

The winner gets a $10,000 honorarium and matching grant for their school and is flown to Los Angeles to attend the Grammy Awards. Their award is formally presented at a ceremony during Grammy week.

All finalists receive a $1,000 honorarium, and all semifinalists receive a $500 honorarium. All honorariums are accompanied by a matching school grant.