Acton, Massachusetts April 3rd, 2024– For the fifth time, the Acton-Boxborough Regional School District has been honored with the Best Communities for Music Education designation from The NAMM Foundation for its outstanding commitment to music education. 

Now in its 25th 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 NAMM foundation examined our district's funding, faculty qualifications, graduation requirements, music class participation, instruction time, facilities, and scheduling support for our music programs. Responses were verified and reviewed by The Music Research Institute at the University of Kansas. Acton-Boxborough is one of 23 communities in Massachusetts recognized this year.

Acton-Boxborough’s ongoing investment in curriculum, faculty, resources, and programming signifies our commitment to providing equitable musical opportunities for every child in our district. Music education supports student's cognitive development, emotional wellness, and lifelong engagement in learning. Conflict resolution, teamwork skills, and how to give and receive constructive criticism are among the many social benefits of a comprehensive music education.

Acton-Boxborough’s ongoing commitment to meaningful music education exemplifies how providing comprehensive music education for all students can help us achieve our district's wellness, equity, and engagement goals.

“Both music and language are complex communication systems, in which basic components are combined into high-order structures in accordance with rules. Whether music was an evolutionary precursor to language or merely a byproduct of cognitive faculties that developed to support language, music is pervasive across human cultures and throughout history…”

Nina Kraus, Jessica Slater, “Music and language: relations and disconnections,” The Human Auditory System: Fundamental Organization and Clinical Disorders, Vol. 29, 3rd Series, 2015.