Nearly Half of the GRAMMY 2018 Music Educator Award™
Quarterfinalists Are NAfME Members
The GRAMMY Foundation® has announced 197 quarterfinalists for the 2018 GRAMMY Music Educator Award™, and of that number, 95 are members of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). In all, nominations of teachers from 187 cities were submitted. From elementary general music teachers to band directors, choral conductors, string teachers, and college professors, NAfME congratulates these talented, dedicated music teachers.
The Music Educator Award was established to “recognize current educators from kindergarten through college 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 the schools.” A joint partnership and presentation of The Recording Academy and the GRAMMY Foundation, the recipient will be honored during GRAMMY Week 2018.
The 2018 recipient will also be flown to New York to attend the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards ceremony and other GRAMMY Foundation events. The nine additional finalists will receive a $1,000 honorarium, and the schools of all 10 finalists will receive matching grants. The honorariums and grants provided to the finalists and schools are made possible through the support of the GRAMMY Foundation’s Education Champions Converse, Disney Performing Arts, Ford Motor Company Fund, and Journeys. In addition, the American Choral Directors Association, the National Association for Music Education, the NAMM Foundation, and the National Education Association support this program through outreach to their constituencies.
Semi-finalists will be announced in September.
All four of the previous GRAMMY Music Educator honorees, Kent Knappenberger, Jared Cassedy, Phillip Riggs, and Keith Hancock, are NAfME members.
Nominate a teacher for the 2019 Music Educator Award. Once nominated, the teacher will be notified and asked to apply.
Below is a list of NAfME members who have been named quarterfinalists for the 2018 Music Educator Award. Click here for the full list of 197 quarterfinalists.
|
Name |
School |
City |
State |
|
Janeen Wilkins |
East Anchorage High School |
Anchorage |
AK |
|
Sherri Miller |
Dale County High School |
Midland City |
AL |
|
Jordan Rakita |
Heritage Academy |
Mesa |
AZ |
|
Richard Maxwell |
Arcadia High School |
Phoenix |
AZ |
|
Ashley Willits |
Notre Dame High School Belmont |
Belmont |
CA |
|
Curtis Gaesser |
Folsom High School |
Folsom |
CA |
|
Paul Kay |
Mirman School |
Los Angeles |
CA |
|
Ulli Reiner |
Bernardo Heights Middle School |
San Diego |
CA |
|
Troy Davis |
Aragon High School |
San Mateo |
CA |
|
Kate Margrave |
Pine Creek High School |
Colorado Springs |
CO |
|
Shawna Beeler |
Vista Ridge High School |
Colorado Springs |
CO |
|
David Merrill |
Longmont High School |
Longmont |
CO |
|
Brennan Orie |
Amity Middle School Bethany |
Bethany |
CT |
|
Lisa Corriveau |
Mansfield Middle School |
Storrs |
CT |
|
Lou Kitchner |
Bedford Middle School |
Westport |
CT |
|
Davey Yarborough |
The Duke Ellington School of the Arts |
Washington |
DC |
|
Stephen Panoff |
Sandalwood High School |
Jacksonville |
FL |
|
Gabriel Fielder |
Leesburg High School |
Leesburg |
FL |
|
Daniel Harvey |
Seminole Ridge Community High School |
Loxahatchee |
FL |
|
Vivian Gonzalez |
South Miami K – 8 Center |
Miami |
FL |
|
Vivian Ventura |
Arvida Middle School |
Miami |
FL |
|
Stratos Argyriou |
American Heritage School Plantation |
Plantation |
FL |
|
James Yaques |
Palm Beach Central High School |
Wellington |
FL |
|
Jeffery Redding |
West Orange High School |
Winter Garden |
FL |
|
Scott Stewart |
The Westminster Schools |
Atlanta |
GA |
|
Jack Jean |
Whitewater High School |
Fayetteville |
GA |
|
Amy Reber |
Lake Oconee Academy |
Greensboro |
GA |
|
Gary Gribble |
Alan C. Pope High School |
Marietta |
GA |
|
Scott Brown |
Dickerson Middle School |
Marietta |
GA |
|
Michelle Swanson |
University of Northern Iowa |
Cedar Falls |
IA |
|
Christina Jenkins |
Idaho Arts Charter School |
Nampa |
ID |
|
Charles Morgan |
Joliet Junior College |
Joliet |
IL |
|
Corey Ames |
Deer Path Middle School |
Lake Forest Ill. |
IL |
|
Rachel Maxwell |
Traughber Junior High School |
Oswego |
IL |
|
Victor Anderson |
Yorkville High School |
Yorkville |
IL |
|
Jim Daughters |
Twenhofel Middle School |
Independence |
KY |
|
Teresa Elliott |
Paul Laurence Dunbar High School |
Lexington |
KY |
|
Holly Smith |
Ascension Catholic School |
Louisville |
KY |
|
Eric Allen |
Western Middle School for the Arts |
Louisville |
KY |
|
Andrew Bower |
Dolores T. Aaron Academy |
New Orleans |
LA |
|
Brian Messier |
Belchertown High School |
Belchertown |
MA |
|
Brandi Jason |
Liberty High School |
Eldersburg |
MD |
|
Kyle Weary |
Barbara Ingram School for the Arts |
Hagerstown |
MD |
|
David Rhen |
Towson High School |
Towson |
MD |
|
Joel Vanderheyden |
Jefferson College |
Hillsboro |
MO |
|
Travis Coakley |
Biloxi High School |
Biloxi |
MS |
|
Jennifer Bourbonais |
Overpark Elementary School |
Olive Branch |
MS |
|
Jacob Bartlett |
Peru State College |
Peru |
NE |
|
Theodora Sotiropoulos |
Northern Highlands Regional High School |
Allendale |
NJ |
|
Andrew Lesser |
Wilbur Watts Intermediate School |
Burlington |
NJ |
|
Robert Palmer |
Gables Elementary School |
Neptune |
NJ |
|
Kyle Kubicki |
Norwood Public School |
Norwood |
NJ |
|
Matthew Paterno |
Wayne Hills High School/William Paterson University |
Wayne |
NJ |
|
Greg Odom |
Roswell High School |
Roswell |
NM |
|
Charles Cushinery |
Ed W. Clark High School |
Las Vegas |
NV |
|
Jocelyn Morrow |
Sage Ridge School |
Reno |
NV |
|
Melissa Salguero |
P.S.48 Joseph R. Drake |
Bronx |
NY |
|
Peter Holsberg |
The Berkeley Carroll School |
Brooklyn |
NY |
|
Kathryn Ingerson |
Thousand Islands High School |
Clayton |
NY |
|
Andrew Bennett |
Fredonia Central School District |
Fredonia |
NY |
|
Richard Harris |
Islip High School |
Islip |
NY |
|
Jack Gremli |
Nanuet High School |
Nanuet |
NY |
|
Shane Bonney |
West Canada Valley Central School District |
Newport |
NY |
|
Anthony Pinelli |
Jr. Paul D. Schreiber High School |
Port Washington |
NY |
|
Anthony Pollera |
RC Murphy Junior High School |
Stony Brook |
NY |
|
Aaron Rex |
Jackson High School |
Jackson |
OH |
|
Diana Wightman |
Liberty Middle School |
Newark |
OH |
|
Scott Schleuter |
Perrysburg High School |
Perrysburg |
OH |
|
Connie Coleman |
Bixby High School |
Bixby |
OK |
|
Michael Raiber |
Oklahoma City University |
Oklahoma |
OK |
|
Julie Ely |
Stone Ridge Elementary |
Yukon |
OK |
|
Lesley Bossert |
Parkrose High School |
Portland |
OR |
|
Ralph Jackson |
Bridle Path Elementary School |
Lansdale |
PA |
|
David Bachart |
New Hope – Solebury High School |
New Hope |
PA |
|
Adam Nobile |
Big Spring High School |
Newville |
PA |
|
Michelle Frank |
Franklin Learning Center |
Philadelphia |
PA |
|
Curtis Crone |
Red Lion Area Senior High School |
Red Lion |
PA |
|
Seth Jones |
Spring – Ford High School |
Royersford |
PA |
|
Henry Pearlberg |
Strath Haven Middle School |
Wallingford |
PA |
|
Stacey Place |
Metcalf Elementary School |
Exeter |
RI |
|
Jamie Hawkins |
Southwood Academy of the Arts |
Anderson |
SC |
|
James Beaumier |
Hartsville High School |
Hartsville |
SC |
|
Pamela Andrews |
Station Camp Elementary |
Gallatin |
TN |
|
Taylor Franklin |
Northview Academy |
Kodak |
TN |
|
Bonnie Anderson |
Coronado Village Elementary |
Universal City |
TX |
|
Brian Thompson |
Richfield High School |
Richfield |
UT |
|
David Reynolds, Jr. |
Vienna Elementary School |
Vienna |
VA |
|
Lauren Visel |
Orange County High School |
Orange |
VA |
|
Neil Freebern |
Burr and Burton Academy |
Manchester |
VT |
|
Jamar Jenkins |
Coupeville High School |
Coupeville |
WA |
|
Rachel Lake |
Ilwaco High School |
Ilwaco |
WA |
|
Dominic Gischia |
Johnson Creek Middle/High School |
Johnson Creek |
WI |
|
Anthony Cao |
Madison West High School |
Madison |
WI |
|
Bonnie Scholz |
Pius XI High School |
Milwaukee |
WI |
|
Shawn Weis |
Natrona County High School |
Casper |
WY |
