Forty-two schools nationwide have been selected by the GRAMMY Foundation as GRAMMY Signature Schools for 2005. Presented by 7 UP, the GRAMMY Signature Schools program recognizes the top public high schools across the United States that made an outstanding commitment to music education during the 2004 – 2005 school year.

"The GRAMMY Signature Schools program provides an excellent opportunity to recognize schools across the country that support and maintain arts and music programs," said GRAMMY Foundation and Recording Academy President Neil Portnow. "We salute these schools for their recognition of the positive effects that the arts and music have on our youth, and we wish them continued success. We thank our partner 7 UP for their generous support of this program and music education."

Of the 42 GRAMMY Signature Schools, the top seven have been designated Gold recipients. The best of the gold recipients is named the National GRAMMY Signature School. Each will receive a custom award and a monetary grant to benefit its music program. The National GRAMMY Signature School will receive $25,000, and the six remaining Gold schools will each receive $7,000. In the Enterprise Award category, which recognizes efforts made by schools that are economically underserved, two schools will receive a grant of $20,000 each. The remaining 33 GRAMMY Signature Schools recipients will each receive a grant award of $2,000 to benefit its music programs and a certificate of recognition.

"As a sponsor of the GRAMMY Awards and the GRAMMY Foundation's Signature Schools program, 7 UP is proud to honor these outstanding high schools that have exhibited a true commitment to music education," said Steven Jarmon, vice president, marketing resources, Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages. "Music is an integral part of our culture, and we fully support The Recording Academy's mission to provide music and arts education to all young people."

Determined by a panel of top music educators and professionals, Neuqua Valley High School, of Naperville, Ill., was named the National GRAMMY Signature School. Schools awarded Gold status are: Davidson Fine Arts School, Augusta, Ga.; Flower Mound High School, Flower Mound, Texas; Las Vegas Academy of Performing and Visual Arts, Las Vegas, Nev.; Pioneer High School, Ann Arbor, Mich.; Plano Senior High School, Plano, Texas; and South Salem High School, Salem, Ore. The GRAMMY Signature Schools Enterprise Award recipients are: Canajoharie High School, Canajoharie, N.Y., and Danville High School, Danville, Ark.

To begin the selection process, last September the GRAMMY Foundation mailed notification to more than 20,000 public high schools from districts large and small, urban, suburban and rural, requesting information about each school's music program. Applications were completed and submitted online. After the applications were scored, finalists were identified and asked to submit additional documentation such as recordings of school concerts, sample concert programs, and repertoire, which was then reviewed by an independent screening committee to determine the schools that merited Signature School status. The GRAMMY Signature Schools Blue Ribbon Committee selected the National school, the six Gold recipients and the two Enterprise Award schools.

Additionally, through a grant from the Gibson Foundation, the following schools were each awarded $5,000 to benefit their guitar programs: A N McCallum High School, Austin, Texas; John Hersey High School, Arlington Heights, Ill.; and Las Vegas Academy of Performing and Visual Arts, Las Vegas, Nev.

For a complete list of 2005 GRAMMY Signature School recipients, please click here.