Waterville Senior High School has been selected as one of 119 schools nationwide as GRAMMY Signature Schools semifinalists for 2016 by The Grammy Foundation, according to a news release from Sue Barre, band director, Waterville Public Schools.

Created in 1998, the GRAMMY Signature Schools program recognizes top U.S. public high schools that are making an outstanding commitment to music education during an academic school year.

Each of the GRAMMY Signature Schools finalists will receive a custom award and monetary grant to benefit its music program. The top programs are designated Gold recipients, and the best program of the Gold recipients is designated as the National GRAMMY Signature School, according to the release. The remaining schools are designated as GRAMMY Signature Schools. For schools that are economically underserved, the GRAMMY Foundation established the Enterprise Award to recognize the efforts these schools have made in music education. A list of semifinalist schools in the Enterprise Award category will be posted in mid-December. The GRAMMY Signature Schools program is made possible in part by the generous support of Converse, Ford Motor Company Fund, Hot Topic Foundation, Journeys, Les Paul Foundation and RBC Foundation USA.

The GRAMMY Foundation also has established the GRAMMY Signature Schools Community Award, an extension of the GRAMMY Signature Schools program. Through its partnership with Converse, the Hot Topic Foundation, Journeys, Les Paul Foundation, Brookfield Properties and the RBC Foundation USA, the GRAMMY Foundation identifies deserving public high school music programs to receive the award and a $2,000 grant, according to the release. To date, 500 awards totaling approximately $1 million in grants have been distributed to high school music programs.

“From our perspective, many public high schools across the country provide top notch music education programs for their students — often working with very limited financial means,” said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy and the GRAMMY Foundation, in the release. “Our GRAMMY Signature Schools program steps in to augment those resources with cash grants, and to celebrate the excellence of these programs and the beneficial and lasting effects of a music curriculum in the lives of young people. We are especially excited to celebrate a landmark in our GRAMMY Signature Schools Community Award program, which has awarded its 500th grant since the initiative began in 2010.”

In mid-March 2016, the GRAMMY Foundation will announce the finalists for the GRAMMY Signature Schools program. These schools will receive a custom award and a monetary grant ranging from $1,000 up to $6,000 to benefit their music program.