NAMM Attends School Board Administrators Conference to Show Support for Music Education

The NAMM Foundation announced today that the organization and a handful of NAMM Members and associates participated in the National School Boards Association’s (NSBA) 69th annual conference to communicate to thousands of school board members the benefits of children actively participating in school music programs.

For years, NAMM has partnered with NSBA in the shared vision that all children deserve access to quality musical experiences in school. The NAMM Foundation has continued to reiterate its research and experience-based evidence supporting the benefits of music education to key school board members at the conference who are responsible for district education budgets.

Several industry companies and organizations joined the effort this year at the NSBA including Remo, Yamaha, Sibelius, Werner and the VH1 Save the Music Foundation.  Remo was on hand as the sponsor of the event’s first-ever drum circle on April 5, 2009, giving hundreds of school board members the chance to participate, many of whom who had never played a musical instrument.

“Musical instruments are educational tools for all children, wellness tools for everyone and unifying tools for every community,” said Remo Belli, founder and CEO of Remo Drums. “We are glad to partner with NSBA and the NAMM Foundation to bring school leadership teams the opportunities that drumming provides to people of all ages and abilities, particularly during these turbulent times.”

Co-facilitating the drum circle were Christine Stevens of Remo Inc., and middle school students from Vista Arts Academy’s “Lunchtime Learning” percussion ensemble. The San Diego County school is currently experiencing dramatic cuts to its music education program due to district funding shortages.

This year, the NAMM Foundation also sponsored student performances throughout the conference, reminding school board members that a complete education includes greater access and equity for music and arts education for all children.

NAMM Associate Director of Public Affairs and Government Relations Sandra Jordan addressed NSBA members on April 5, reminding them that “Now more than ever, we must take heart in the reality that our future will be guided by the ingenuity and creativity of young people and that the hands-on challenge of music and the arts forges the intellect and the soul to achieve what is good for the self and what is good for the whole.”

“We cannot abandon the need and the right for all children to learn and grow with music and the arts—and that with relentless resolve, we must provide students with this element of the core curriculum,” Jordan said.

Newly-appointed Secretary of the United States Department of Education Arne Duncan also addressed the group, remaining true to the new White House administration’s support for music and arts education.

About NAMM Foundation
The NAMM Foundation is a non-profit organization with the mission of advancing active participation in music making across the lifespan by supporting scientific research, philanthropic giving and public service programs from the international music products industry.  For more information about The NAMM Foundation, please visit www.nammfoundation.org.