| What: | National educational experts will tour the Houston Independent School District on Wednesday to gather information for a jury of former U.S. secretaries of education, governors, university presidents and CEOs to decide whether HISD will win the 2012 Broad Prize for Urban Education, the nation’s largest education award that carries with it $550,000 in college scholarships. This four-day “site visit” will include interviews with district officials, principals, teachers, staff, parents, students and community representatives, as well as classroom observations. Best practices collected during the site visit will also be shared with urban districts nationwide.
|
| When:
|
Wednesday, May 23
10:30 a.m. School and classroom tour with Superintendent Terry Grier, panel of national education experts, and Principal Herlinda Garcia. 11:15 a.m. Media availability, Q&A with researchers, Broad Foundation rep and superintendent
|
| Where:
|
J.P. Henderson Elementary School, library 1800 Dismuke Street 713.924.1730
|
| Why: | HISD is one of only four urban school districts nationally to be in the running for the 2012 Broad (rhymes with “road”) Prize for Urban Education and $550,000 in scholarships. Houston was chosen as a finalist in April for having topped 71 other large urban districts nationwide in making student gains. This is HISD’s first time returning as a Broad Prize finalist since winning the inaugural award in 2002.The Broad Prize is awarded annually by The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, a national education philanthropy based in Los Angeles that seeks to ensure that every student in an urban public school has the opportunity to succeed. The award honors urban school districts that demonstrate the greatest overall performance and improvement in student achievement in the nation while reducing income and ethnic achievement gaps.
The winning school district, which will be announced on Oct. 23 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, will receive $550,000 in college scholarships for high school seniors who graduate in 2013. Each finalist district will receive $150,000 in scholarships. Seventy-five large urban school districts nationwide were eligible for the 2012 Broad Prize. Other finalist districts this year are: the Corona Norco Unified School District in Southern California, Miami-Dade County Public Schools and the School District of Palm Beach County, Fla. For more information, please visit www.broadprize.com. The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation was founded by self-made entrepreneur Eli Broad and his wife Edythe, both graduates of Detroit Public Schools. Bringing together top education experts and practitioners, the foundation funds system-wide programs and policies that strengthen public schools by creating environments that allow good teachers to do great work and enable students of all backgrounds to learn and thrive. |