NAfME Member Jared Cassedy Named Second Annual GRAMMY Music Educator

Jared Cassedy

Jared Cassedy of Windham High School in Windham, N.H., a member of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), was named the recipient of the second annual Music Educator Award™ presented by The Recording Academy^® and the GRAMMY Foundation^®. A total of 10 music teachers from 10 cities across nine states were selected as finalists for the award. In total, more than 7,000 initial nominations were submitted from all 50 states. Eight of the 10 music educator finalists are NAfME members.

“Words cannot describe how amazing this honor is,” Cassedy said. “This award is not only recognition of the truly talented students and supportive community I get to work with every day, but it’s also a representation of the fundamental significance of music and the arts in our schools.”

The music teacher added: “As a tribute to the thousands of outstanding music educators everywhere, I cannot thank The Recording Academy and GRAMMY Foundation enough for helping us to advocate for and to celebrate the importance of music education across the nation.”

The Music Educator Award was established to recognize 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 the schools. This special award will be presented at The Recording Academy’s Special Merit Awards Ceremony & Nominees Reception (honoring recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award, Trustees Award and Technical GRAMMY^® Award) on Saturday, February 7, during GRAMMY Week.

“The Recording Academy and the GRAMMY Foundation partnered to create this award to honor the powerful and lasting influence music educators have on their students,” said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of the GRAMMY Foundation and The Recording Academy. “Generations of musicians — including many GRAMMY nominees and GRAMMY winners — got their start on the path to a creative life from a teacher who instilled in them a belief in their own talents, and a passion for building a professional career in music.”

Cassedy receives a $10,000 honorarium for Windham High School and the other nine finalists receive a $1,000 honorarium. The 10 finalists, with NAfME members’ names highlighted in bold, are:

Name	School	Location
Steven Acciani	Diamond Bar High School	Diamond Bar, California
William Bennett	Cane Bay High School	Summerville, South Carolina
Jared Cassedy	Windham High School	Windham, New Hampshire
Krista Fanning	Caddo Middle Magnet	Shreveport, Louisiana
Richard Maxwell	Arcadia High School	Phoenix, Arizona
Debra Reilly	Springhouse/Orefield Middle Schools	Allentown, Pennsylvania
Huber Smith	Maplewood Middle School	Sulphur, Louisiana
Nancie Tobison	Barrington High School	Barrington, Illinois
Danny Yancey	Martin Gifted & Talented Magnet School	Raleigh, North Carolina