Scherler Named Quarterfinalist for National Music Educator Award

Oklahoma Baptist University’s Dr. Kathy Scherler, assistant professor of music education, has been named as a quarterfinalist for the Music Educator Award presented by the Recording Academy and the GRAMMY Museum. More than 2,300 initial nominations were submitted from all 50 states. A total of 197 music teachers from 187 cities across 45 states plus Washington, D.C., have been announced as quarterfinalists.

The Music Educator Award was established to recognize current educators, Kindergarten through college in both public and private schools, who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the field of music education and who demonstrate a commitment to the broader cause of maintaining music education in the schools. A joint partnership and presentation of the Recording Academy and the GRAMMY Museum, the recipient will be recognized during GRAMMY Week 2018.

Scherler coordinates the music education program in the Warren M. Angell College of Fine Arts and recently completed her third year of teaching at OBU. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in vocal performance and teacher certification from Cameron University. She then earned a Master of Music in vocal performance from Texas A&M University in Commerce, Texas. She also earned a Doctor of Philosophy in music education at the University of North Texas. She was recently also nominated for the International Music Council’s Music Rights Award, based on her work creating the Oasis Summer Music Camp, which provides music instruction to children and young adults in a domestic violence shelter located in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

The Music Educator Award is open to current music teachers within the United States and anyone can nominate a teacher – students, parents, friends, colleagues, community members, school deans and administrators. Teachers are also able to nominate themselves, and nominated teachers are notified and invited to fill out an application.

Each year, one recipient is selected from 10 finalists and recognized for their remarkable impact on students' lives. The fifth annual honoree will be flown to New York to attend the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards and a range of GRAMMY Week events. The nine additional finalists will receive a $1,000 honorarium, and the schools of all 10 finalists will receive matching grants.

Fifteen semifinalists will receive a $500 honorarium with matching school grants. The matching grants provided to the schools are made possible by the generosity and support of the GRAMMY Museum’s Education Champions Converse, Disney Performing Arts, Ford Motor Company Fund and Journeys. In addition, the American Choral Directors Association, National Association for Music Education, NAMM Foundation, and National Education Association support this program through outreach to their constituencies.