2020 Music Educator Award finalists announced recognizing 10 top teachers

By ITS Education Asia

The annual Music Educator Award recognizes teachers 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.

Congratulations to this year's 10 finalists:

• Elizabeth Bennett - Buffalo Grove High School, Buffalo Grove, Ill.
• Stephen Cox - Eastland High School, Eastland, Texas
• Victor de los Santos - Santa Ana High School, Santa Ana, Calif.
• Geoffrey Gould - Swift River Elementary School, Belchertown, Mass.
• Elizabeth Hering - Churchill High School, Livonia, Mich.
• Jason Majerczak - Drexel Hill Middle School, Drexel Hill, Pa.
• Chris Maunu - Arvada West High School, Arvada, Colo.
• Lynne Ruda, Lancaster High School, Lancaster, N.Y.
• Mickey Smith Jr. - Maplewood Middle School, Sulphur, La.
• Kokoe Tanaka-Suwan - Bronx Global Learning Institute for Girls, Bronx, N.Y.

Each year, one recipient is selected from the 10 finalists and recognized for their remarkable impact on students' lives. The seventh annual honoree will be flown to Los Angeles to attend the 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards and a range of GRAMMY week events. The nine additional finalists will receive a $1,000 honorarium, and the schools of all 10 finalists will receive matching grants. The remaining 15 semifinalists will receive a $500 honorarium with matching school grants.

Well done all!  Keep up the great work. Teachers everywhere applaud you.