Music Retailers Build Strong School Ties Through Best Communities for Music Education Awards Program

As many music retailers know, maintaining strong music programs in schools has a lot to do with relationships — connections with music educators, arts directors, school board members, parents and students are vital. Music stores have many ways to build those relationships; one of those ways is by encouraging schools in their regions to apply for the Best Communities for Music Education (BCME) Awards program. A signature program of  The NAMM Foundation, BCME is in its 25th year of recognizing and celebrating districts and individual schools for their support of music education.

Below, three NAMM members share their BCME experiences, how the program has helped them build community relationships, and tips for retailers that want to get involved.

“BCME is an easy way to get involved, thank school districts for their efforts in music education and be part of the advocacy.”
 
— Jenna Day, Day Violins

Tips for retailers:

• Personal connections to school board members help your cause for music education, and BCME is one way to begin conversations around school music programs. 
• Presenting the BCME Award in front of parents is a great way to make them aware of the accomplishments of the school music programs and the success of their student musicians.

A handful of years ago, in Fairfax County, Virginia, the strings music program was on the brink of being cancelled. That meant that the opportunity for students to learn instruments like the violin, viola and cello would be gone. 

Jenna Day, owner of Day Violins string shop based in Northern Virginia, knew what a loss it would be. Over a year, she attended every school board meeting, spoke to school board members about the importance of the strings program and contributed to writing a persuasive impact statement. 

Because of these relentless efforts, decision-makers came to appreciate what the strings program had to offer students and approved to continue it. The value of the program was further fortified when Fairfax County Public Schools received the Best Communities for Music Education Award.

“The fact that we were able to present [the school board] with the award two years later was very significant,” says Day. “That was a special award, just because we had worked so hard to save the program.”

Day says that The NAMM Foundation provides retailers with the materials they need to get started with promoting BCME, including a list of counties that win in a retailer’s region and printable award certificates, so she recommends other retailers leverage those resources.

Not only is it fulfilling for Day to see school districts win BCME, it’s also helpful to her business. “It’s a way to stand out,” she says, noting that supporting schools and school districts through BCME helps strengthen the bridges she’s created between Day Violins and fine arts directors across districts in Virginia.

“BCME is invaluable. We’ve garnered business just because we’re helping and being a resource.” 

— Tom Kelly, Zeswitz Music

Tips for retailers:

• Use face-to-face meetings to remind music educator contacts to apply for BCME. 
• Be familiar with the BCME application so you can answer questions about the process.
• Encourage schools and districts to bring their student bands, orchestras or choirs to perform at the presentation of the BCME Award for an inspiring celebration of their achievement.

Tom Kelly is on the road Monday through Friday to meet with music educators at the 26 school districts and private institutions that he serves as education representative for Zeswitz Music. Kelly remembers that in the early 80s the state of Maryland attempted to eliminate music in schools. While that’s not the case today, he says it’s important to continue advocating for music using a variety of methods, including Best Communities for Music Education, so that it isn’t targeted during budget cuts. 

Working with his educator contacts to encourage them to apply for a BCME Award consideration has been a win-win — schools and districts that receive the award earn more credibility for the work they do and Zeswitz Music maintains strong community bonds with the schools they service.

This spring, Kelly has attended school district and school board meetings to present the BCME Award to board presidents and the superintendent. In addition to presenting the award, Zeswitz Music encourages the music department to be present and to have students from band, orchestra or chorus perform to celebrate their achievement as a top district for music.

“We make it a cultural event,” says Kelly, “to show that music is alive and well in that school district.”

Kelly has noticed the schools or districts that are new to the BCME Award program often have questions about the application process, including how to answer certain questions. For example, when answering a question about rehearsal space, one educator thought their school didn’t have one because they rehearsed in the cafeteria. 

“I tell them, ‘The answer to the question is yes, you have a rehearsal space even though it’s the cafeteria,” says Kelly. He has found that being a resource in this way encourages educators to complete the BCME application and have a chance at being recognized.

Zeswitz Music is celebrating 101 years in business, and over that time, has served countless students and music educators. The team’s passion will continue for years to come, in the form of being a resource to music educators, getting product into schools, servicing thousands of instruments annually and helping music programs get recognition through programs like BCME — all so that students can continue their musical journeys.

“Our business is heavily dependent on relationships within our communities. Continuing to champion the music programs allows us to strengthen relationships across the board.”

— Jonathon Breen, The Music Shoppe

Tips for retailers:

• BCME adds credibility to music programs and is a method for illuminating their value to administrators who may not have a music or arts background.
• Use BCME as one tool in your toolbox for building relationships with the key players in your communities.

McLean County Unit School District No. 5. in Illinois, the largest district The Music Shoppe serves, is proud of its arts program, which includes choir, band and string orchestra. Despite a healthy program, elementary band and orchestra became at risk when discussions around budget cuts for the 2023-2024 school year arose. Cutting the program would mean that elementary students would miss out on a year’s worth of music ed, which typically results in fewer students joining in middle school.

Jonathon Breen, president of The Music Shoppe, became part of the movement to advocate for the program. “It was ironic that the board was talking about cutting the music program during Make Music in Our Schools Month,” he says, “and it had been announced that they had won the Best Communities for Music Education Award.”

Breen brought up these points in his speech to the school board to argue that it wouldn’t make sense to cancel elementary band and orchestra when it belonged to a music ed program that had been recognized on a national level “by NAMM, a prestigious organization,” he says.

There was such an outpouring of support and additional speakers who stood up for the program at that pivotal meeting, that the school board members decided to reinstate funding.

“They ended up finding that money from another budget,” says Breen. “There was no need to single out this program when there were other areas that could be cut.” 

Since Breen had used the BCME Award to support his argument to save the elementary program, he followed up by attending the next school board meeting to present the BCME Award officially, further entrenching the significance of the win and expressing gratitude for the decision to keep the program. 

Breen says that the arts and music community gets it — the challenge is in communicating the value of music to administrators who are not musicians or arts based. BCME has been an effective way to provide credibility to music programs that are excelling, and the award “has more cachet with the administration.” 

BCME is also a way to fortify the music educators on the front lines. “What music educator doesn't like when they have a local retailer champion them in front of their school board?” says Breen. Another benefit is that a retailer can advocate for a music program “from a different voice and perspective.”

For years, The Music Shoppe has worked to grow music programs in local communities, and Breen says that connections with music educators, administrators and school boards are essential to his business and his efforts to bring more music to students.

“Everything that we do is relationship-based, and we still rely heavily on relationship-based selling,” says Breen. BCME is just another way to work within the community to build connections. “It gets our name in front of folks, and people remember us as supportive of their music program. It adds value to us as a retailer.”

Get Involved With the Best Communities for Music Education Program

As a signature NAMM Foundation program, BCME is a way for U.S. schools and districts to earn national recognition for their outstanding efforts to support music as part of a well-rounded education for all children. Music retailers can play an important part in the awareness and celebration of the awards within their communities. To get involved, access The NAMM Foundation’s BCME Award Promo Kit.