The Indian Prairie Educational Foundation announces the 27th annual Fine Arts Festival on Saturday, May 18, from 9 AM to 4 PM, according to the school’s website. All festivals should be enriching and entertaining, as the district’s three high schools house some of the finest fine arts programs in the country.
All-day festivals will take place at all three high schools and involve approximately 14,000 students in total. Participating groups include vocal and instrumental ensembles from all schools in the district, not just the high schools, as well as artistic creations developed by students throughout the year.
Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville last month was named the top National Grammy Signature School, according to a report in the Chicago Tribune. Indian Prairie School District 204’s two other high schools were mentioned as semifinalists. About one-fourth of the students at Neuqua Valley are involved in the music program in one way or another.
Additional resources:
- Neuqua Valley schedule: website
- Map to Neuqua Valley High School: Google Maps
- Map to Waubonsie Valley High School: Google Maps
- Map to Metea Valley High School: Google Maps
Grammy Signature Schools for 2013:
National GRAMMY Signature School ($10,000)
Neuqua Valley High School — Naperville, Ill.
GRAMMY Signature Schools Gold ($5,500 each)
Marcus High School — Flower Mound, Texas
York Community High School — Elmhurst, Ill.
GRAMMY Signature School ($2,000)
Northwood High School — Irvine, Calif.
GRAMMY Signature Schools Enterprise Award ($5,500 each)
Colony High School — Palmer, Alaska
Compton High School — Compton, Calif.
John Marshall High School — Los Angeles, Calif.
North Central High School — Spokane, Wash.
Palacios High School — Palacios, Texas
Sahuarita High School — Sahuarita, Ariz.
How the process works
The top schools are designated as Gold recipients. The best of the Gold recipients is named the National GRAMMY Signature School and receives a $10,000 award. Other winners receive awards of $5,500 and $2,000. The separate Enterprise Award category recognizes schools that serve economically disadvantaged communities. The winners in this category receive $5,500 each to benefit their music programs.
The selection process begins in August, when the GRAMMY Foundation mails notification to more than 20,000 public high schools across America. Schools submit applications with information about their music programs.
After the applications are scored, finalists are identified and asked to submit additional documentation, such as recordings of school concerts, sample concert programs, and repertoire. These materials are reviewed by an independent committee of music educators and professionals to determine the schools that merit GRAMMY Signature School status.
