Boyertown Area School District Earns "Best in Music Education" Honors

The Boyertown Area School District (BASD) has  reprised the achievement of being named one of America’s Best Communities for Music Education by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Foundation. This is at least Boyertown’s 10th consecutive year earning this designation.

Mary Luehrsen, Executive Director of the NAMM Foundation, says, “We applaud the administrators, teachers, and communities who support and sustain music education through a period of intense change and are committed to music education so that all children can explore and express themselves through music.”

For 2023, 850 school districts have earned recognition. To earn this recognition, districts are evaluated in nine categories: student demographics, student-teacher ratio, music education participation rates, music and/or fine arts graduation requirements, knowledge of music electives, teacher qualifications, music education assessment standards, music facilities, and budget.

Despite schools’ current emphasis on “STEM”—an acronym for “science, technology, engineering, and math"— applications for Best Communities for Music Education recognition have increased markedly over the years. “Music education, as part of a well-rounded education, has never been more important to unleash students’ creativity and support emotional health and well-being as they build connections through music activities,” explains Luehrsen.

Becky Puleo, president of the Boyertown Area Schools Music League, the parent/community booster organization for music education in the school district, attributes the success of the district’s programs to the music educators. “BASD is lucky to have music educators who not only expect excellence but foster it in our students. They all encourage students in the music program to not only do their best during each performance, but also they inspire students to be good people. I believe this is part of what leads to the attainment of this honor each year,” she says.

Describing all of the extra hours she sees the music teachers contributing, Puleo concludes, “The Music League is proud of each music educator in our district and is glad to support them in any way we can. It is always great to see others acknowledging what we know to be true: that we have the best of the best here in Boyertown.”

The America’s Best Communities for Music Education designation was earned by several other area school districts as well. You can view the complete list here. 

Just last week, BASD students Olivia Helmer and Daniel Freed performed as members of All-State Choir and All-State Band, respectively.

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