We are excited to announce that the Biloxi Public School District has been honored with the Best Communities for Music Education designation from The NAMM Foundation for its outstanding commitment to music education.  The Biloxi Public School District is the ONLY school district in the state of Mississippi to receive this recognition for the 2021-2022 school year and we have received this distinction each year for the past EIGHT years! Now in its 23rd year, the Best Communities for Music Education designation is awarded to districts that demonstrate outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music access and education to all students.

To qualify for the Best Communities designation, the Biloxi Music Department 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.

"It is such a tremendous honor to annually receive the "Best Communities for Music Education" designation from the NAMM Foundation because it reaffirms that in Biloxi we take the performing arts seriously. Our music teachers, beginning in our elementary schools through our secondary programs, are dedicated to our students and providing them with a path to lifelong success using music as the vehicle. We also have wonderful administrators, parents, and board members that see to it that music and the performing arts are provided to all," said Travis Coakley, Director of Fine Arts for Biloxi Public Schools.

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.

We are committed to music education in Biloxi Schools, offering music class to K-6th, show choir, band, and piano lab to 6th-12th, orchestra, strings and marching band to 7th-12th. 

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.