On August 11, 2025, Anne Kelley, a K-6 General Music, Choir, and Handbells teacher at Greenfield Elementary School, received the Carl Wiltse Scholarship during the Bay View Week of Handbells convention in Bay View, Michigan. Kelley attended the five-day event to connect with advanced bell-ringers and enhance her teaching for students at Greenfield Elementary.
Kelley was chosen for the scholarship due to her experience and her role as Chair-Elect for Handbell Musicians of America. The award allows her to collaborate with musicians from around the world and bring new ideas back to her classroom.
“We are all incredibly proud of Ms. Kelley for her hard work,” said Robin Fine, Administrative Assistant at Greenfield Elementary. “This honor is very much deserved, and she has come back with lots of cool things to teach our Gators!”
Gilbert Public Schools (GPS) highlights this achievement as part of its ongoing commitment to music education from Pre-K through 12th grade. At the end of the 2024-2025 school year, GPS was named one of the Best Communities for Music Education in the nation by the NAMM Foundation for the sixth year in a row. Over these years, several GPS music educators have also been recognized by organizations such as the Arizona Music Educators Association and Arizona Strings Teacher’s Association.
Among recent honorees are Jill Humphreys (2025 G. Van Diest Music Advocacy Award), Sara Duce (2025 O.M. Hartsell Excellence in Teaching Music Award), D.J. Spetz (2024 Outstanding Administrator), James Hudson (2023 Arizona Music Educator of the Year), Jenny Nichols (2023 Outstanding String Orchestra Teacher; 2020 Arizona Music Educator of the Year), Cynthia Seagraves (2023 O.M. Hartsell Excellence in Teaching Music Award), Crystal Payne (2023 O.M. Hartsell Excellence in Teaching Music Award), Dr. Krista Cox (2021 Outstanding Administrator), and Tim Cannon (2020 Outstanding Administrator).
Additionally, Sara Duce from Greenfield Junior High will be recognized in November 2025 at the Country Music Awards as the only recipient in the southwestern United States of the CMA Foundation Music Teachers of Excellence Award.
More information about music education programs can be found at GilbertSchools.net/Music.
