Northside ISD has been named one of five finalists for the 2007 Broad Prize for Urban Education, a prestigious national award given annually to school districts that have made the greatest improvements in student achievement while closing gaps among ethnic groups and high and low-income students.
The winner of The Broad (pronounced “brode”) Prize, which will be announced Sept. 18 at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., will receive $500,000 in scholarships for graduating seniors. Each of the four finalist districts will receive $125,000 in scholarships.
The other finalists are: Bridgeport Public Schools, Conn.; Long Beach Unified School District, Calif.; Miami-Dade County Public Schools; and New York City Department of Education. The 2006 winner was Boston Public Schools.
“It’s an honor to be recognized by such a distinguished award as one of the best school districts in the United States,” Northside Superintendent John Folks said. “It recognizes the committed efforts of all teachers, staff, parents, and students to make NISD the premier district that we are.”
Northside, with enrollment of about 82,000, is the largest “Recognized” school district in Texas, and in 2005, H-E-B Grocery Stores named NISD the best public school district in Texas.
One hundred of the largest urban school districts in the nation are eligible for The Broad Prize. The five finalist school districts were selected based on a review of data compiled and analyzed by MPR Associates, Inc., a leading national education research consulting firm. A review board of 14 prominent educational leaders evaluated the data and selected the five finalist districts.
According to The Broad Foundation, the following are among the reasons Northside was chosen as a finalist:
- In 2006, Northside outperformed other Texas districts serving students with similar income levels in reading and math at all grade levels. In addition, Northside’s low-income, African-American, and Hispanic students outperformed their peers in similar districts in reading and math at all levels.
- Although Northside has a larger percentage of low-income and minority students than the state average, the district’s low-income, African-American, and Hispanic students achieved higher average proficiency rates in reading and math at all grade levels compared to their state-wide counterparts in 2005 and 2006.
- Northside is closing achievement gaps for African-American, Hispanic, and low income students in high school reading and middle and elementary school reading and math. From 2003 to 2006, the income achievement gap closed nine percentage points in middle school reading and seven points in middle school math.
Northside’s enrollment is about 62 percent Hispanic and 8 percent African-American, and about 46 percent of all students are classified as economically disadvantaged.
“Other urban districts nationwide can learn a great deal from what is working in Northside,” said Eli Broad, founder of The Broad Foundation.
Over the next two months, teams of educational researchers and practitioners will conduct site visits in each finalist district to gather information, interview district administrators, conduct focus groups with teachers and principals, and observe classrooms. The teams also will talk to parents, community leaders, school board members, and union representatives. A selection jury of 14 prominent individuals nationwide from business, industry, education, and public service will then review the data and choose the winning school district.
The Broad Foundation was established by Edythe and Eli Broad, a renowned business leader who founded two Fortune 500 companies, SunAmerica Inc. and KB Home. Based in Los Angeles, The Broad Foundation’s mission is to dramatically improve K-12 urban public education through better governance, management, labor relations, and competition.
For more information about The Broad Prize, this year’s finalists and the review board, visit
www.broadprize.org.
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