HISD employees erupted in cheers on Sept. 25 after learning that the district had been selected as the 2013 winner of the Broad Prize in Urban Education.

Almost 200 central office employees gathered in a conference room at the district’s headquarters to hear the winner announced, and after U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan confirmed what many had hoped, the mood in the room was ecstatic.

“This is an awesome feeling,” said Office of Special Education secretary Maria Harvey, who attended the viewing party. “What a rush! It’s an exciting time.”

“This is a great re-reward for a hard job, well done,” said Family and Community Engagement Specialist Corey Cornett. “Sometimes it’s hard for people to see on a daily basis what we’re moving toward. But this is a great way for the entire world to know how we are working for and supporting our students.”

“I’m not a public speaker,” said Director of Academic Services Anne Boothe. “All I can say is — I’m happy!”

[photoshelter-gallery g_id=’G00002NavdzhZyLU’ g_name=’HISD-Employee-Broad-Reaction’ width=’600′ f_fullscreen=’t’ bgtrans=’t’ pho_credit=’iptc’ twoup=’f’ f_bbar=’t’ f_bbarbig=’f’ fsvis=’f’ f_show_caption=’t’ crop=’f’ f_enable_embed_btn=’t’ f_htmllinks=’t’ f_l=’t’ f_send_to_friend_btn=’f’ f_show_slidenum=’t’ f_topbar=’f’ f_show_watermark=’t’ img_title=’casc’ linkdest=’c’ trans=’xfade’ target=’_self’ tbs=’5000′ f_link=’t’ f_smooth=’f’ f_mtrx=’t’ f_ap=’t’ f_up=’f’ height=’400′ btype=’old’ bcolor=’#CCCCCC’ ]

“Winning the Broad Prize is recognition of the tremendous strides that HISD has made as a district to advance student achievement for all kids,” added General Manager of Family and Community Engagement Alex Morúa. “It’s an historic occasion, and it fills me with great pride.”

Before returning to their desks, dozens of central office employees wrote congratulatory messages to Dr. Grier and HISD on a banner. You can see some of those in the photo gallery above. We would like to hear from you, too, so if you have a comment, please share it below.

See the reaction to the Houston Independent School District winning the 2013 Broad Prize. The Broad Foundation will donate $550,000 worth of scholarships to our graduating seniors.