Soundscapes honors NNPS with Community Partner Award
Posted: February 26, 2026
Soundscapes honored Newport News Public Schools and the City of Newport News with its Community Partner Awards on February 21 at the 2026 Soundscapes Gala at the Marriott at City Center.
Superintendent Dr. Michele Mitchell, School Board Chairman Dr. Terri Best, Board Vice Chairman Maritsa Alger and Board Member Lisa Surles-Law accepted the award.
"On behalf of the Newport News Public Schools family that is made up of many dedicated members who participate in and champion our partnership with Soundscapes, we accept this Community Partner Award with deep gratitude," Mitchell said. "We are proud to stand alongside the City of Newport News in support of an organization that enriches the lives of our students and our families through the power of the arts.
"This partnership reflects what is truly possible when schools, the city and a community organization work together with a shared purpose and heart. We are truly thankful for this recognition and even more grateful for the continued collaboration that makes a lasting difference for our students."
Soundscapes is a non-profit organization in Newport News that provides music instruction and ensemble performance opportunities after school for students to strengthen social, emotional, creative and critical thinking skills.
NNPS helped launch Soundscapes at Carver Elementary School in 2009 and has supported every step of the organization's growth, including expansion to Greenwood Elementary School and Discovery STEM Academy and providing a home for the Peninsula Youth Orchestra at Gildersleeve Middle School, Soundscapes Co-founder and Program Director Reynaldo Ramirez said in presenting the award.
"For more than 16 years the school district has generously shared classrooms, cafeterias, gyms, libraries and auditoriums for after-school programs and performances," Ramirez said. "They provided after-school meals to ensure students are well fed and ready to learn; and taken students home on buses, making it possible for students of working families to participate."
