The Recording Academy and GRAMMY Museum have announced 25 music teachers representing 17 states have been selected as semifinalists for the 2018 Music Educator Award.
2018 Music Educator Award Semifinalists
Bonnie Anderson: Coronado Village Elementary, Universal City, Texas
Pamela Andrews: Station Camp Elementary School, Gallatin, Tenn.
Drew Benware: Saranac Lake High School, Saranac Lake, N.Y.
John Churchville: Go Like The Wind Elementary School, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Victor de los Santos: Santa Ana High School, Santa Ana, Calif.
Michelle Droe: Lincoln Elementary, Cedar Falls, Iowa
Dale Duncan: Henderson Middle School, Atlanta
Curtis Gaesser: Folsom High School, Folsom, Calif.
Ralph Jackson: Bridle Path Elementary School, Lansdale, Pa.
Brandi Jason: Liberty High School, Eldersburg, Md.
Mike Kurilko: Trenton High School, Trenton, Mich.
Kate Margrave: Pine Creek High School, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Chris Maunu: Arvada West High School, Arvada, Colo.
Darren McCoy: Oak Harbor High School, Oak Harbor, Wash.
Aaron Rex: Jackson High School, Jackson, Ohio
David Reynolds Jr.: Vienna Elementary School, Vienna, Va.
David Rhen: Towson High School, Towson, Md.
Melissa Salguero: P.S. 48 Joseph R. Drake, Bronx, N.Y.
Bonnie Scholz: Pius XI Catholic High School, Milwaukee
Joani Slawson: Saturn Elementary, Cocoa, Fla.
Laura Steigerwald McCoy: St. Joseph Central Elementary School, Fort Wayne, Ind.
Amy J. Steiner: Hutchinson Central Technical High School, Buffalo, N.Y.
Vicky Stockton: New York State School for the Deaf, Rome, N.Y.
James Yaques: Palm Beach Central High School, Wellington, Fla.
Davey Yarborough: Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Washington, D.C.
One recipient will be selected from 10 finalists in recognition or their significant and lasting contribution to the field of music education and commitment to the broader cause of maintaining music education in the schools. The honoree will be flown to New York to attend the 60th GRAMMY Awards and a range of GRAMMY Week events. The nine additional finalists will receive a $1,000 honorarium, and the schools of all 10 finalists will receive matching grants.
Additionally, 15 semifinalists will receive a $500 honorarium with matching school grants. The matching grants provided to the schools are made possible by the generosity and support of the GRAMMY Museum's Education Champion: Ford Motor Company Fund. In addition, the program is supported by the American Choral Directors Association, National Association for Music Education, NAMM Foundation, and National Education Association/
The Music Educator Award finalists will be announced in December.
