2015 Grammy Signature Schools Announced

The Grammy Foundation® announced today that 13 U.S. schools have been selected as Grammy® Signature Schools (www.grammyintheschools.com) for 2015 and have been awarded cash grants totaling $61,000. Created in 1998, the Grammy Signature Schools program recognizes the top U.S. public high schools that make an outstanding commitment to music education during an academic school year.

Each of the 13 GRAMMY Signature Schools will receive a custom award and a monetary grant to benefit its music program. The top three schools are designated Gold recipients. The best of the Gold recipients is named the National GRAMMY Signature School and will receive $5,000. The two remaining Gold schools will each receive $3,500. Two remaining GRAMMY Signature Schools recipients will each receive a grant of $2,500 to benefit their music programs. Eight schools will receive the Enterprise Award grant, which recognizes the efforts made by schools that are economically underserved. Each of the Enterprise Award schools will receive a grant in the amount of $5,500. The GRAMMY Signature Schools program is made possible in part through the generous support of the Ford Motor Company Fund.

The GRAMMY Foundation also presents the GRAMMY Signature Schools Community Award, an extension of the GRAMMY Signature Schools program in partnership with Brookfield Properties, Converse, the Hot Topic Foundation, Journeys, and RBC Capital Markets. Through this alliance, the GRAMMY Foundation identifies financially challenged public high school music programs to receive this award and a $2,000 grant. During the current fiscal year, approximately 80 schools to date have received the GRAMMY Signature Schools Community Award, with grants totaling $160,000.

“Our GRAMMY Signature Schools program has a profound impact on the students who attend each of the selected institutions,” said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy^® and the GRAMMY Foundation. “Not only are we able to provide much-needed funding through this GRAMMY in the Schools^® initiative, we are also able to draw public attention to the positive and critically important work these schools are doing to serve their students through excellent music programs.”

“Ford is a strong supporter of music in schools and its ability to enhance the overall educational experience for students and we are proud to once again partner with the GRAMMY Foundation to provide resources for the GRAMMY Signature Schools program,” said Pamela Alexander, director of community development for Ford Motor Company Fund. 

2015 GRAMMY Signature Schools:

2015 National GRAMMY Signature School ($5,000)

A.N. McCallum High School — Austin, Texas 

2015 GRAMMY Signature Schools Gold ($3,500 each)

Northwood High School — Irvine, Calif.

Pioneer High School — Ann Arbor, Mich. 

2015 GRAMMY Signature Schools ($2,500 each)

Allen High School — Allen, Texas

Tesoro High School — Las Flores, Calif. 

2015 GRAMMY Signature Schools Enterprise Award ($5,500 each)

Allendale High School — Allendale, Mich.

Canyon Springs High School and the Law & Leadership Preparatory Academy — Las Vegas

Girard Academic Music Program — Philadelphia

Lakewood High School           — Sumter, S.C.

Margarita Muñiz Academy — Jamaica Plain, Mass.

Osbourn High School — Manassas, Va.

Phillip and Sala Burton Academic High School — San Francisco, Calif.

Pleasure Ridge Park High School — Louisville, Ky.

The selection process for GRAMMY Signature Schools begins each year in August when the GRAMMY Foundation mails notifications to more than 20,000 public high schools in districts large and small, urban, suburban and rural, requesting information about each school’s music program. Applications are completed and submitted online in October at www.grammyintheschools.com. After the applications are scored, finalists are identified and asked to submit additional documentation, such as recordings of school concerts, sample concert programs and repertoire, which is then reviewed by an independent blue-ribbon committee of top music educators and professionals to determine the schools that merit GRAMMY Signature School status.

The GRAMMY Foundation was established in 1988 to cultivate the understanding, appreciation and advancement of the contribution of recorded music to American culture. The Foundation accomplishes this mission through programs and activities that engage the music industry and cultural community as well as the general public. The Foundation works in partnership year-round with its founder, The Recording Academy, to bring national attention to important issues such as the value and impact of music and arts education and the urgency of preserving our rich cultural heritage. In recognition of the significant role of teachers in shaping their students’ musical experiences, The Recording Academy and the GRAMMY Foundation are partnering to present their third annual Music Educator Award. Open to current U.S. music teachers in K through college, the Music Educator Award will be presented at the Special Merit Awards ceremony during GRAMMY Week 2016. To nominate a teacher for the third annual Music Educator Award, please visit GRAMMYMusicTeacher.com. For more information about the Foundation, please visit www.grammyfoundation.org. For breaking news and exclusive content, please like “GRAMMY in the Schools” on Facebook and follow @GRAMMYFdn on Twitter and Instagram.   

Ford Motor Company Fund & Community Services works with community partners to advance driving safety, education and community life. For more than 60 years, Ford Motor Company Fund has operated with ongoing funding from Ford Motor Company. The award-winning Ford Driving Skills for Life program teaches new drivers through a variety of hands-on and interactive methods. Innovation in education is encouraged through national programs that enhance high school learning and provide college scholarships and university grants. Through the Ford Volunteer Corps, more than 25,000 Ford employees and dealers work on projects each year that better their communities in more than 30 countries. For more information, visit www.community.ford.com.