NAfME Member Jennifer Jimenez Named 2026 Grammy Music Educator Award^TM Honoree

National Association for Music Education Member Jennifer Jimenez Named 2026 Grammy Music Educator Award^TM Honoree

HERNDON, VA (January 30, 2026)—The National Association for Music Education (NAfME) congratulates NAfME member Jennifer Jimenez on being honored with the 2026 Music Educator Award^TM. This much-deserved honor is presented by The Recording Academy and the GRAMMY Museum^TM. This is the thirteenth year the Music Educator Award has been presented, and now 11 of the winners have been members of NAfME: Kent Knappenberger (2014); Jared Cassedy (2015); Phillip Riggs (2016); Keith Hancock (2017); Melissa Salguero (2018); Jeffery Redding (2019); Mickey Smith Jr. (2020); Pamela Dawson (2023); Annie Ray (2024); Adrian Maclin (2025); and now Jennifer Jimenez (2026).

“Jennifer Jimenez is an outstanding advocate, mentor, active community builder, music researcher, and most of all, a music educator beloved by her former and current students,” said NAfME President Cecil Adderley. “We at the National Association for Music Education offer our enthusiastic congratulations to Jennifer—a member of NAfME and our affiliate, the Florida Music Education Association, as well as a Tri-M® Music Honor Society chapter advisor—on this most deserved honor. How she encourages her students to take leadership and ownership in their academic and personal lives and among their peers is an example to her peers in the profession. Her resolve in advocating for her school’s music program and ensuring its needs are met is noteworthy. Jennifer’s influence is certainly far-reaching, and we cannot even imagine how far her impact will reach. Well done!”

“Jennifer Jimenez is an outstanding advocate, mentor, active community builder, music researcher, and most of all, a music educator beloved by her former and current students.”

Jennifer Jimenez is in her 19th year as Director of Bands and Elective Department Chair at South Miami Senior High School, a public school in the nation’s third largest school district (Miami-Dade County Public Schools). She is also the principal percussionist for the Miami Symphony Orchestra. A native of Nebraska, notes The Recording Academy and GRAMMY Museum, Jimenez “fell in love with teaching and the Miami community during her days as a student at the University of Miami.”

Among her honors are Kennedy Center Sondheim Inspirational Teaching Award winner; previous Grammy Music Educator Award Finalist; and University of Miami Band Hall of Fame inductee. She is active in the Florida Bandmaster’s Association and a charter and state board member for Women Band Director International’s Florida chapter. Jimenez earned the Florida International University’s Graduate Research Award for her work focusing on underrepresented populations in music education. Additionally, she has collaborated with the Greater Miami Youth Symphony (GMYS) to bring free and reduced-cost music programs and camps to the students of Miami. The positive impact she’s had on her students cannot be understated.

“She lets us tell everyone our story with music,” shared one of her students, Alisson Martinez, on CBS This Morning. “I think Mrs. Jimenez is a great teacher because she understands not just our instruments but ourselves,” shared another student.

“There’s the joke about there being no I in team; there’s no I in band either,” shared Jimenez. “Band is the family you choose.”

“Band is the family you choose.”

Former student Mario Portela Pardo followed in her footsteps and became a band director. “If it wasn’t because of music, I would have probably dropped out,” he noted. Sharing what he learned from Jimenez, Portela Pardo said, “It’s blending the ability to care about the individual—not only how they’re doing in school, but how they are doing as a person.”

“Band is a lot of mindset,” added student Izabella Tapanes. “You’re going to get into the mindset. You’re going to play; you’re going to practice; you’re going to make it better, and that’s it. You cannot strive for perfection; you strive for improvement. So, everybody in this band has the mindset of, okay, today we’re going to make one thing better.”

“You might not have natural talent, but you can choose to do the work,” said Jimenez. “And they choose it every day. And that’s, you know, the results.”

Jennifer Jimenez is an inspirational music educator, and NAfME applauds her dedication to ensuring her students have a place in her program and in the community, building their determination to achieve their goals in music and in life. Jennifer Jimenez will be acknowledged on the GRAMMY Award broadcast Sunday, February 1, 2026.

The Recording Academy and the GRAMMY Museum launched the Music Educator Award to bring attention to the excellent and impactful work being done by thousands of music teachers across the United States. This award recognizes current educators (kindergarten through college, public and private schools) who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the field of music education and who demonstrate a commitment to the broader cause of maintaining music education in our schools.

In this thirteenth year of the award, seven of the 10 finalists for the 2026 Music Educator Award are members of NAfME. All of these teachers’ positive impact on their students’ lives and work to make music education accessible to every student is invaluable.

Nominations for the 2027 Music Educator Award are being accepted through March 15, and teacher application submissions are due March 31 (nominations are not required for educators to apply): bit.ly/GRAMMYMEA.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Catherina Hurlburt
catherinah@nafme.org or (571) 323-3395

###

The National Association for Music Education (NAfME) is a collaborative community that supports music educators and advocates for equitable access to music education. The only association that addresses all aspects of music education, NAfME, together with its affiliated state music education associations, advocates at the national, state, and local levels and provides resources and opportunities for teachers, students, parents, and administrators. Founded in 1907 and representing more than 57,000 members teaching millions of students, NAfME advances the music education profession and promotes lifelong experiences in music.

Follow NAfME on Facebook (facebook.com/nafme) and Instagram (instagram.com/nafme).