School & District Management News in Brief

Five School Districts Are Named Broad Prize Finalists

By Dakarai I. Aarons — April 06, 2010 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Southern school districts are prominent among the five finalists vying for the top prize in urban education.

This year’s finalists for the Broad Prize for Urban Education, announced last week, are the Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C., school district; the Gwinnett County, Ga., school district near Atlanta; the Montgomery County, Md., public schools outside Washington; the Socorro Independent School District in El Paso, Texas; and the Ysleta Independent School District, also in El Paso.

Both Gwinnett County and Socorro were finalists for the prize last year, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg was a finalist in 2004.

The award, started in 2002 by the Los Angeles-based Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, gives $1 million in scholarships to the winning district for high school seniors who graduate in 2011. The other four districts each receive $250,000 in scholarships.

The districts, which all serve significant percentages of low-income and minority students, have made notable gains in reducing the achievement gaps between black and Hispanic students and their white peers, the foundation said.

In addition, the 18-person review board was impressed by the gains the districts made in college readiness, as measured by the increased participation of minority students in the ACT and SAT college-entrance exams, as well as the Advanced Placement exams, for which high school students can earn college credit.

“At a time when public schools are in crisis, these five urban school districts are an example for other struggling districts because they have demonstrated that students can achieve and improvement is possible even in challenging times,” Eli Broad, the founder of the Broad Foundation, said in a statement. “It is our hope that other districts around the country will learn from the practices these five districts are employing that are leading to sustainable academic gains.”

Over the next two months, review teams will visit the finalist districts and interview school administrators and others to compile reports on the districts to be used in determining the final winner.

Last years winner was the Aldine, Texas, district, which was a four-time finalist. The winner of the 2010 Broad Prize is scheduled to be announced Oct. 19 in New York City.

A version of this article appeared in the April 07, 2010 edition of Education Week as Five School Districts Are Named Broad Prize Finalists

Events

Teaching Profession K-12 Essentials Forum New Insights Into the Teaching Profession
Join this free virtual event to get exclusive insights from Education Week's State of Teaching project.
Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and K-12 education jubs at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Mathematics K-12 Essentials Forum Helping Students Succeed in Math

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School & District Management Explainer School Start Times and Student Sleep, Explained
Pediatricians want school to start later so older students can get more sleep. Districts say that's easier said than done.
5 min read
Academic boost sleep circadian start time 1705611814 01
Yutthana Gaetgeaw/iStock/Getty
School & District Management Opinion What Advice Would You Offer School Superintendents?
Listen to learn and support capacity building are among the key components to building a successful and stable leadership model.
8 min read
Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week
School & District Management Online Rumors Can Tear School Communities Apart. How Leaders Are Fighting Back
AI, cellphones, and social media have complicated districts' communication strategies and have made fact-checking a crucial strategy.
9 min read
Too much information or spam concept. Social media internet user trying to stop hoax fake news, disinformation noise.
iStock/Getty
School & District Management Opinion For Principals, Emotional Intelligence Is More Than Just Being ‘Nice’
Emotions are contagious. When leaders struggle, the school environment does, too.
Marc Brackett, James Floman & Robin Stern
5 min read
Juggling emotions control concept, businessman juggling emotions icons and mood control, mindfulness and psychology, techniques and techniques for managing anger
iStock/Getty