Tempe Elementary Schools Named a "Best Community for Music Education" for the Seventh Year in a Row

Strike up the band and join the chorus! For the seventh year in a row, Tempe Elementary Schools has been named a Best Communities for Music Education (BCME) by the NAMM Foundation. This national designation is given to districts and schools that demonstrate an exceptionally high commitment and access to music education.

Tempe Elementary is one of just seven districts throughout Arizona to receive this distinction, celebrating the ongoing commitment to equity, excellence, and opportunity in music education. Headlining the program is Tempe’s dedication to universal access to music education for students from kindergarten through eighth grade, marked by being the only district in the East Valley to provide instrumental music education to students at no cost. This support includes a district-maintained instrument, method book, and all needed supplies and repairs.

For Tempe Elementary Schools Fine Arts Coordinator Courtney Darby, another point of pride is the district’s expert educators who hold the program to high standards and fuel its success. “This is a destination district for music educators because of the support we provide for our students and our teachers,” Darby said. 

Tempe’s music classrooms are not just places to perform — they’re spaces where students explore the building blocks of music itself. Through instruction in music composition, students learn how to create and interpret music in meaningful ways. Each lesson is designed to meet learners where they are developmentally, while also introducing the music’s cultural context that broadens students’ understanding of the world.

With 20 years of education experience under her belt, Darby knows that successful arts programs command an investment of money, time, and resources. Tempe Elementary has continued to prioritize that investment, even amid changing enrollment and budgets.

“It’s great to be able to tell a parent, ‘This is going to be available to your child no matter where you go in the district.’ Providing equity is a huge reason why we continue to receive this award,” she said. “We’ve established an expectation for equity of access and high expectations across all our schools, but also the support necessary to achieve those expectations. That’s something we continue to do.”

While Darby and her lauded team of educators hope to inspire students on a lifelong journey through music, she knows that for some, this may be the end of the road. For those students, she hopes the music programs students experience during their K-8 journey instill productive failure, confidence, and perseverance.

“We live in a really stressful world, and anytime we can give kids tools to deal with that stress on their own, they’re going to be better off,” Darby said. “I think music and art do that. It’s so much more than pretty things. It’s so much more than pretty sounds. It impacts your soul.”

This seventh consecutive BCME designation reaffirms Tempe Elementary’s unwavering commitment to providing every student with access to high-quality, inclusive music education, now and into the future. 
 

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About Fine Arts at Tempe Elementary
Tempe Elementary Schools and its community are committed to providing rich and varied experiences for our students. Learn more about Fine Arts at Tempe Elementary.