Ossining is Named a Best Community for Music Education for Sixth Year in a Row

For the sixth year in a row, the National Association of Music Merchants Foundation has named the Ossining school district one of the Best Communities for Music Education in the country.

Ossining is one of 476 school districts around the country and 131 in New York that is being recognized for outstanding efforts by teachers, administrators, parents, students and community leaders to ensure all students have access to music learning as part of the curriculum.

"We're so pleased to receive this designation again this year. We are fortunate to have such a tremendous music faculty and well supported programs,” said Bradley Morrison, director of cultural arts for Ossining schools. “I count myself as blessed to live in a community that understands that need to educate the whole child, with a strong emphasis on music and the arts."

The schools and districts that are Best Communities for Music Education serve as models for developing standards-based music education programs, Mary Luehrsen of the NAMM Foundation said in announcing the winners. This is the 17th year of the NAMM Foundation’s Best Communities for Music Education program.

“We are moving from a time when curricula were narrowed due to pressure from testing and test-prep remediation to a broader view of what is important for all children,” she said. “That includes access to a well-rounded education – and an opportunity to learn and grow with music and the arts.”

To qualify for the designation, Ossining answered questions about funding, graduation requirements, music class participation, instruction time, facilities, support for the music program, and community music-making programs. The Music Research Institute at the University of Kansas reviewed the submissions.

The designations are even more significant this year because of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, which was signed into law last December and replaced the No Child Left Behind Act. The No Child Left Behind Act was frequently criticized for overemphasizing student testing and downplaying important subjects like music. The law states that music and the arts are important elements of a well-rounded education, according to the NAMM Foundation.

“Access to music and the arts in the curriculum is important in its own right and connects students to their own personal expression and creativity,” said Christopher Johnson, a professor and researcher at the University of Kansas. “These activities also have been shown to contribute to lower dropout rates, higher graduation rates, higher ACT scores, and all the while, children learn the joys of music and all the life skills it fosters.”

(Photo of the Ossining High School Marching Band marching in the 2016 St. Patrick's Day Parade in New York City by Rodrigo Vargas.)