Phil Peters, the chairman of the music program at the 2,300-student school, said he believes his school is being honored in part because of some of its special music projects. For instance, the music department regularly commissions and students perform new works by composers. And in the past couple of years, the school has put on operas, which, as Mr. Peters notes, is unusual for a high school. Mr. Peters said the school will receive its award at a nominees' banquet the day before the Feb. 24 telecast of the awards ceremony. But it won't be an actual Grammy trophy, he said.
Many teachers donate their time and energy to the schools where they work or to their communities.
But about half the teachers in a small Pennsylvania town are going one step further and donating part of their paychecks, too. Residents recently voted down two referendums that would have raised taxes to support the operations of the 28,000-volume library. Although the program has garnered tremendous support from the community, residents just don't want their taxes raised, explained Stephen Smerbeck, the president of the Meyersdale Area Education Association and an English teacher at Meyersdale Junior-Senior High School. For more information on the Grammy Awards, visit the official Grammy site . 1999 Editorial Projects in Education Vol.