Urban School District Awards
The Alexandria, Va.-based National School Boards Association’s Council of Urban Boards of Education, which represents 100 school districts in 37 states, has awarded the 2007 Urban School Board Excellence prize to the Miami-Dade County Schools and the Houston Independent School District. The winners of this year’s award were selected based on their demonstration of excellence in school board governance, equality in education, academic improvement, and community partnerships. Miami-Dade County Schools, with 369,000 students, and the 202,000-student Houston Independent School District, the fourth and seventh largest school districts in the country, respectively, will share the award’s $5,000 contribution to student scholarships.
New Jersey Teacher of the Year Award
John Kline, a seventh and eighth grade social studies teacher at Norwood Elementary School in Norwood, New Jersey, has been named the 2007 New Jersey Teacher of the Year by the New Jersey State Department of Education. Mr. Kline was recognized for his success in applying an interactive method to teaching history, and for his commitment to incorporating mathematics, science, Spanish, and the arts into his social studies curriculum. As New Jersey Teacher of the Year, Mr. Kline will participate in a half-year sabbatical traveling the state and attending conferences offered by Educational Testing Services, a Princeton, N.J.-based nonprofit organization that develops and administers achievement tests and resources for educators.
Urban Education Award
Scholastic Education, a division of New York City -based Scholastic Corporation that provides technological and multimedia learning materials for students in pre-K through high school, has awarded Kathleen Cashin with the 2007 Scholastic Leadership in Urban Education Award. Ms. Cashin has worked for the New York City public schools for 30 years and is currently the CEO of the New York City Department of Education’s Knowledge Network Learning Support Organization, a curriculum model that promotes a strong foundation in science, social studies, visual arts, and music, as well as supporting collaborative teaching communities for educators. The Scholastic Education URBIE award, which includes a $5,000 Scholastic book voucher, is in its second year and was created to honor teachers or organizations that improve urban education for students in need.
