Teaching Profession Video

This Teacher Won a Grammy and Saved a Life

By Lauren Santucci — October 19, 2023 3:30
Grammy 001 BS

Pamela Dawson, the choir teacher at DeSoto High School outside Dallas for the last 17 years, sees formal music education as secondary to the life lessons and healing that students get from her classes. The educator believes that her approach is what won her this year’s Grammy Music Educator Award.

In the spring of 2022, Dawson received an email informing her that she’d been nominated for the annual award. It wasn’t her first nomination—she was a top-ten finalist in 2020—and she wasn’t sure she wanted to go through with the Grammy nomination process again. But she did. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Hear what that experience was like, and how she’s using the award to continue to benefit her students.

Lauren Santucci was a video producer for Education Week.

Video

Federal Video What the Midterm Elections Could Mean for Schools: 4 Takeaways
What Democratic victories and an electoral bright spot for Trump could mean for schools.
1 min read
People at a Democratic event react during an election night event at a hotel on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026.
People at a Democratic event react during an election night event at a hotel on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Reading & Literacy Video Want Kids to Read More? An Expert Shares the Low-Cost Tips That Work (Video)
A researcher shares her tips about how to motivate kids to read more.
Illustration of children's hands holding books in a circle in the center of the frame.
Illustration by Emily Wright for Education Week
Early Childhood Video How Play-Based Learning Helps Children Practice Math and Literacy Skills
See how elementary teachers use play-based learning to reinforce math and literacy instruction.
1 min read
Children enjoy a morning at the writing center at the Coltrane-Webb STEM Elementary School in Concord, N.C., on Sept. 3, 2026. Educators at the school use play to reinforce math and literacy instruction.
Children enjoy a morning at the writing center at the Coltrane-Webb STEM Elementary School in Concord, N.C., on Sept. 3, 2026. Educators at the school use play to reinforce math and literacy instruction.
Peyton Sickles for Education Week
Early Childhood Video Play-Based Learning: How It Can Build Young Children’s Independence
An EdWeek video looks at how an early learning program helps students explore boundaries and responsibility.
1 min read
Students tend to chickens at WonderHere in Lakeland, Fla. on Sept. 1, 2026.
Students tend to chickens at WonderHere in Lakeland, Fla. on Sept. 1, 2026.
Saul Martinez for Education Week