CLEARFIELD – Clearfield’s St. Francis Catholic School has been honored with the SupportMusic Merit Award from The NAMM Foundation for its outstanding commitment to music education.
The SupportMusic Merit Award recognizes individual schools that demonstrate outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music access and education to all students.
“Music is important within our school because music empowers the soul for students to think creatively and helps to build a well-rounded education for all,” said Anna Boughner, principal of St. Francis School.
“Receiving this award for two years in a row is amazing for our school. This award will help to drive music education in our school to new heights in the future!”
To qualify for the SupportMusic Merit Award, St. Francis School answered detailed questions about funding, graduation requirements, music class participation, instruction time, facilities, support for the music program and community music-making programs.
Responses were verified with school officials and reviewed by The Music Research Institute at the University of Kansas.
Since the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015 and a stated emphasis on a well-rounded education, many school districts have re-committed to music and arts education programs.
During the pandemic, music and arts programs were a vital component to keeping students engaged in school. ESSA provides designated funding for well-rounded educational opportunities through Title IV Part A Student Academic Success and Achievement grants.
NAMM Foundation research has revealed that these grants are being widely used by school districts to address instructional gaps in access to music and arts education.
“Music education here at St. Francis School is one of a kind. The students have the opportunity to participate not only in weekly general music classes but can also participate in band and choir starting in fourth grade. All students have access to a variety of instruments to perform on in the classroom such as guitars, ukuleles, Orff instruments, bucket drumming, and many other classroom instruments,” states Jennifer Sproull, music teacher at St. Francis.
“The support that is received at St. Francis not only from our students, staff and parents, but also from our parish and community is phenomenal.
“Anytime the need is there for an instrument for a student, masks for our band students during COVID—it is received graciously to benefit not only each and every student, but the entire music program.”
Sproull also states, “I am truly honored and blessed to be part of such an amazing school that supports music education and places all our arts and specialty areas on pedestals to show our students the importance of not only their regular classes, but also how the arts are a necessity in their lives as well to develop a well-rounded student.”
Research into music education continues to demonstrate educational/cognitive and social skill benefits for children who make music.
After two years of music education, researchers found that participants showed more substantial improvements in how the brain processes speech and reading scores than their less-involved peers, and that students who are involved in music are not only more likely to graduate high school, but also to attend college as well.
Everyday listening skills are stronger in musically trained children than in those without music training. Significantly, listening skills are closely tied to the ability to: perceive speech in a noisy background, pay attention and keep sounds in memory.
Later in life, individuals who took music lessons as children show stronger neural processing of sound: young adults and even older adults who have not played an instrument for up to 50 years show enhanced neural processing compared to their peers. Not to mention, social benefits include conflict resolution, teamwork skills, and how to give and receive constructive criticism.
About The NAMM Foundation
The NAMM Foundation is a nonprofit supported in part by the National Association of Music Merchants and its approximately 10,300 members around the world.
The foundation advances active participation in music making across the lifespan by supporting scientific research, philanthropic giving and public service programs.
For more information about The NAMM Foundation, please visit www.nammfoundation.org.
