My mother is a retired music teacher in the Lowell school system, who studied the impact of music on mental abilities and development. Like Philadelphia, the Lowell schools did not make the list. However, Dracut, Westford, Billerica, and Chelmsford, suburbs of Lowell, are on the list. My son Sam was in the Dracut bands for 8 years, then got his PhD from Dartmouth, then 2 post docs, bearing out what my mother found before he was born. But Dracut goes a step further than having award-winning programs and school bands. There is a culture of music in the school -- and this may be the difference between which districts make the list. My son Dan, who was a star athlete but on no bands, had and still has a high interest in music, especially guitar. Go down his basement today and displayed are a keyboard and guitars in a significant corner, a place to go a play or jam. Maybe larger school systems have a greater challenge in accomplishing this type of culture.
My mother is a retired music teacher in the Lowell school system, who studied the impact of music on mental abilities and development. Like Philadelphia, the Lowell schools did not make the list. However, Dracut, Westford, Billerica, and Chelmsford, suburbs of Lowell, are on the list. My son Sam was in the Dracut bands for 8 years, then got his PhD from Dartmouth, then 2 post docs, bearing out what my mother found before he was born. But Dracut goes a step further than having award-winning programs and school bands. There is a culture of music in the school -- and this may be the difference between which districts make the list. My son Dan, who was a star athlete but on no bands, had and still has a high interest in music, especially guitar. Go down his basement today and displayed are a keyboard and guitars in a significant corner, a place to go a play or jam. Maybe larger school systems have a greater challenge in accomplishing this type of culture.
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