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The Grammy Museum announced today that seven economically underserved U.S. schools have been selected as Grammy Signature Schools Enterprise Award recipients for 2017 and have been awarded cash grants totaling up to $106,500 for their quality music programs. Created in 1998, the Grammy Signature Schools program is a Grammy in the Schools initiative that recognizes U.S. public high schools that make an outstanding commitment to music education during an academic school year.

Each of the seven Grammy Signature Schools Enterprise Award recipients will receive a custom award and a monetary grant to benefit its music program. The Grammy Signature Schools Enterprise Award is made possible through the generous support of the Chuck Lorre Family Foundation and the Ford Motor Company Fund.

The Grammy Museum also presents the Grammy Signature Schools Community Award, an extension of the Grammy Signature Schools program in partnership with Brookfield Properties, Converse, Journeys, RBC Capital Markets, Hot Topic Foundation, and the Les Paul Foundation. Through this alliance, the Grammy Museum identifies financially challenged public high school music programs to receive this award and a $2,000 grant. During the current fiscal year, approximately 150 schools to date have received the Grammy Signature Schools Community Award, with grants totaling $300,000.

«The Grammy Signature Schools program is one of the most far-reaching of our key education initiatives and it has grown significantly since its establishment,» said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy and Chair of the Grammy Museum Board. «Especially now, when we are engaged in a critical national discussion about the importance of the arts and the role of our educational institutions, it seems imperative that The Recording Academy continues to lend its resources and reputation to underscore the fundamental necessity of these in all of our lives.»

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