Warsaw Community High School’s music department. Photo provided by Cassandra Petrie.

Press Release

WARSAW — Warsaw Community Schools has been honored with the Support Music 2021 Merit Award designation from The NAMM Foundation for its outstanding commitment to music education.

Now in its 22nd year, the Best Communities for Music Education designation is awarded to districts that demonstrate outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music access and education to all students. To qualify for the Best Communities designation, WCS answered detailed questions about funding, graduation requirements, music class participation, instruction time, facilities, support for the music program and community music-making programs. Responses were verified with school officials and reviewed by The Music Research Institute at the University of Kansas.

The Warsaw Community High School music department received this recognition based on the programs and courses offered, the level of education of instructors, and the opportunities students have to perform both in and out of school. The WCHS music department is made up of Angela Dielman, Cassandra Petrie, Kyle Travis and Mark Ziegler.

“It is an immense pleasure to work with such talented, driven students and to collaborate with such quality faculty members,” said Petrie.

“Excellent news!” said WCHS Principal Troy Akers on the designation. “Fabulous commendation!”

Since the passage by Congress in 2015 of the Every Student Succeeds Act and a stated emphasis on a well-rounded education, many school districts have re-committed to music and arts education programs, and found that in this time of a national pandemic, provides a valuable way to keep students engaged in school. ESSA provides designated funding for well-rounded educational opportunities through Title IV Part A Student Academic Success and Achievement grants. NAMM Foundation research has revealed that these grants are being widely used by school districts to address instructional gaps in access to music and arts education.

Research into music education continues to demonstrate educational/cognitive and social skill benefits for children who make music. After two years of music education, researchers found that participants showed more substantial improvements in how the brain processes speech and reading scores than their less-involved peers and that students who are involved in music are not only more likely to graduate high school, but also to attend college as well. Everyday listening skills are stronger in musically trained children than in those without music training.

Significantly, listening skills are closely tied to the ability to perceive speech in a noisy background, pay attention and keep sounds in memory. Later in life, individuals who took music lessons as children show stronger neural processing of sound. Young adults and even older adults who have not played an instrument for up to 50 years show enhanced neural processing compared to their peers. Not to mention, social benefits include conflict resolution, teamwork skills, and how to give and receive constructive criticism.

The WCHS music department received this recognition based on the programs and courses offered, the level of education of instructors and the opportunities students have to perform both in and out of school.

“This is excellent and exciting news,” said WCS Superintendent Dr. David Hoffert. “Congratulations and thanks to the performing arts department for all the great work they do with our students and community.”