More Than Half of the 2020 GRAMMY Music Educator Award Quarterfinalists Are NAfME Members

More Than Half of the 2020 GRAMMY Music Educator Award^TM Quarterfinalists Are NAfME Members

The Music Educator Award Is Presented by
The Recording Academy^TM and the GRAMMY Museum^®

 

The Recording Academy™ and GRAMMY Museum^® has announced 189 quarterfinalists for the 2020 GRAMMY Music Educator Award™, and of that number, 120 are currently members of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME)*. In all, nominations of teachers from 179 cities were submitted. From elementary general music teachers to band directors, choral conductors, string teachers, and college professors, NAfME congratulates these exemplary, dedicated music educators.

The Music Educator Award was established to “recognize current educators from kindergarten through college in public or private schools, the Music Educator Award honors teachers who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the field of music education and demonstrate a commitment to the broader cause of maintaining music education in the schools. Each year, a recipient is chosen from 10 finalists and recognized for their remarkable impact on students’ lives.” A joint partnership and presentation of The Recording Academy and GRAMMY Museum, the recipient will be recognized during GRAMMY^® Week 2020.

The 2020 recipient will also be flown to Los Angeles to attend the 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards® ceremony and other 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, all made possible by the GRAMMY Museum’s Education Champion Ford Motor Company Fund.  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. The National Association for Music Education supports this program through outreach to music education supporters.

Semi-finalists will be announced in September.

All six of the previous GRAMMY Music Educator honorees, Kent Knappenberger, Jared Cassedy, Phillip Riggs, Keith Hancock, Melissa Salguero, and Jeffery Redding—who is a keynote speaker at the 2019 NAfME National Conference in Orlando this November—are NAfME members.

 

Learn more about the Music Educator Award^TM process. Submit nominations and applications here for the 2021 Award.

Below is a list of NAfME members who have been named quarterfinalists for the 2020 Music Educator Award. Click here for the full list of 189 quarterfinalists.

James Allder	Greenbrier East High School	Lewisberg	WV
Corey Ames	Deer Path Middle School	Lake Forest	IL
Michael Antmann	Freedom High School	Orlando	FL
Nathaniel Arnold	Upper Dublin High School	Fort Washington	PA
David Bachart	New Hope-Soleburty High School	New Hope	PA
Patrick Beare	Tony Hillerman Middle School	Albuquerque	NM
Andrew Bennett	Fredonia High School	Fredonia	NY
Elizabeth Bennett	Buffalo Grove High School	Buffalo Grove	IL
Brandon Bitner	Central Dauphin High School	Harrisburg	PA
Cherie Bowe	Colmer Middle School	Pascagoula	MS
Andrew Bowerly	Tenino High School	Tenino	WA
George Bradshaw	Dover Area High School	Dover	PA
Brittany Brings	Centennial High School	Boise	ID
Douglas Brown	Middleton High School	Middleton	WI
Andrea Burke	Binford Middle School	Richmond	VA
Christopher Burns	Lakeview Elementary School	St. Cloud	FL
Jamin Burton	Colony High School	Palmer	AK
Teresa Cameron	Eastside Elementary	Lake City	FL
Michalee Christy	Mercer High School	Mercer	PA
Mark Collins	John S. Battle High School	Bristol	VA
Lauren Conrad	Concord High School	Wilmington	DE
James Cooney	Mayville High School	Mayville	WI
James Cornn	Corbin High School	Corbin	KY
Stephen Cox	Eastland High School	Eastland	TX
Christina Custode	Niagara Falls High School	Niagara Falls	NY
Brandon Czubachowski	Spring Valley Hall High School	Spring Valley	IL
Richard Davenport	Chipley High School	Chipley	FL
Victor de los Santos	Santa Ana High School	Santa Ana	CA
Heather Dipasquale	Todd County Middle School	Todd County	KY
Tony DiPasquale	Central Junior High School	Belleville	IL
Thomas Dougherty	Jensen Beach High School	Jensen Beach	FL
Patrick Dunham	Dundee Central School	Dundee	NY
Stephen Elford	Hancock Place High School	St. Louis	MO
Jessica England	Sahuarita Midde School	Sahuarita	AZ
Aaron Evens	Spring Hill High School	Columbia	TN
Christina Farrell	Long Beach Middle School	Long Beach	NY
Christina “Mina” Flateau	Woodsville High School	Woodsville	NH
Chris Gleason	Patrick Marsh Middle School	Sun Prairie	WI
Laurence Glenzer	Nekoosa High School	Nekoosa	WI
Vivian Gonzalez	Miami Arts Studio 6-12 @ Zelda Glazer	Miami	FL
Jonathan Grantham	Amador Valley High School	Pleasanton	CA
Sherie Grossman	Mt. Juliet High School	Mt. Juliet	TN
Robert Groves	Jones County High School	Gray	GA
Melissa Gustafson-Hinds	O’Fallon Township High School	O’Fallon	IL
Eric Hahn	Bangor Area High School	Bangor	PA
Micah Haven	Meeker Middle School	Tacoma	WA
Levert Hedgemon	Westlawn Middle School	Tuscaloosa	AL
Timothy Heichelheim	Skyview High School	Vancouver	WA
Michael Hood	Wissahickon High School	Ambler	PA
Heath Hopper	Sullivan South High School	Kingsport	TN
Lea Ivanovic	One World Middle School	Bronx	NY
Michael Jefferson	Western Alamance High School	Elon	NC
Gerard Patrick Jones	University High School	Fresno	CA
Richard Kane	Mount Union Area Jr High School	Mount Union	PA
Michael Kasper	Carpentersville Middle School	Carpentersville	IL
Scott Katona	Jackson Liberty High School	Jackson	NJ
Steven Kirkland	Hammocks Middle School	Miami	FL
Janet Duguay-Kirsten	South Miami K-8 Center	South Miami	FL
Lou Kitchner	Bedford Middle School	Westport	CT
Brad Laibly	Hartland High School	Hartland	MI
Derek Limback	St. James High School and St. James Middle School	St. James	MO
Harvey Lockhart	Riverview Gardens High School	St. Louis	MO
Edward Luckey	Wilson Southern Middle School	West Lawn	PA
Lisa MacVicar	Hackensack High School	Hackensack	NJ
Jason Majerczak	Drexel Hill Middle School	Drexel Hill	PA
Anthony Marinello	Illinois State University	Normal	IL
Chris Maunu	Arvada West High School	Arvada	CO
Melinda Mauter	Drew Charter School	Atlanta	GA
Alyxis Mayeaux	Brusly High School	Brusly	La.
Matt McVeigh	Fond du Lack High School	Fond du Lac	WI
Sarah Milazzo-Payne	Bryan Station Middle School	Lexington	KY
Rodney Miller	Port Clinton City Schools	Port Clinton	OH
Samuel Minge	East Clinton High School	Sabina	OH
Jennifer Moss	Acton-Boxborough Regional High School	Acton	MA
Scott Nulty	Intermediate School	Manahawkin	NJ
Greg Odom	Roswell High School	Roswell	NM
Topher Otake	Moberly Middle School	Moberly	MO
Edward Owens	Lyman C. Hunt Middle School	Burlington	VT
Kristy Pagan	Amelia Earhart Elementary	Hialeah	FL
Maria Palassis	Oak Hills High School	Cincinnati	OH
Rob Pethel	Sutton Middle School	Atlanta	GA
Jaime Pitnell	Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts	Buffalo	NY
John Pohland	Waconia High School	Waconia	MN
Juvon Pollard	Belaire Magnet High	Baton Rouge	La.
Courtney Powers	Edison High School	Philadelphia	PA
Bryan Poyzer	North Dakota State College of Science	Wahpeton	ND
Crystal Pridmore	Finney Elementary School	San Diego	CA
Amy Rangel	Glendale High School	Glendale	CA
John Riley	Crawford High School	San Diego	CA
Stephen Rivero	Charles W. Flanagan High School	Pembroke Pines	FL
Marcos Rodriguez	Avant Garde Academy of Broward	Hollywood	FL
Xavier Rodriguez	Covert Avenue Elementary School	Elmont	NY
Chad Rose	Worland High School	Worland	WY
Lynne Ruda	Lancaster High School	Lancaster	NY
Thomas Ruggieri	Boardman High School	Youngstown	OH
Markeise Russell	Nicholas Senn High School	Chicago	IL
Peter Sampson	Whiteland Community High School	Whiteland	IN
Eric Sayre	Minneapolis South High School	Minneapolis	MN
Heather Schenck	Mountain Range High School	Westminster	CO
Kati Seiter	Whitnall Middle School	Greenfield	WI
Renee Shane-Boyd	Catalina Foothills High School	Tucson	AZ
Matt Smith	Liberty High School	Liberty	SC
Mickey Smith	Maplewood Middle School	Sulphur	La.
Elisabeth Stambach-Fuller	South Glens Falls High School	South Glens Falls	NY
Laura Moates Stanley	Brookwood High School	Snellville	GA
Beverly Stearns	Williams High School	Williams	AZ
Don Stinson	Joliet Central High School	Joliet	IL
Jamie Stroffolino	Walter Panas High School	Cortlandt Manor	NY
Zachary Sullivan	Bradford High School	Starke	FL
Brian Thomas	Canton High School	Canton	MA
Frank Tieri	Oswego High School	Oswego	IL
Peter Toews	Mountain View High School	Loveland	CO
Johnathan Vest	Centennial High School	Franklin	TN
Anthony Vittore	Elmore County High School	Eclectic	AL
Dustin Wiley	Firelands High School	South Amherst	OH
Eric Willoughby	Woodland High School	Cartersville	GA
Christopher Wink	North Babylon High School	North Babylon	NY
Kimberly Wolbert	Ashland High School	Ashland	OH
James Yaques	Palm Beach Central High School	Wellington	FL
Cory Zilisch	Westport Middle School	Louisville	KY

 

* This number reflects those whose memberships were current at the time of this announcement and is subject to change.