Memorandum from Mary Kay Murphy
Mary Kay Murphy, Ph.D. District 3  School Board Member marykaymurphy@aol.com

April 10, 2009

GSPC Named One of Five Top School Systems 

For more than three years, the Gwinnett County School Board and Superintendent Team have participated in the Broad Foundation-funded Center for the Reform of School Systems. 

Purpose of the intensive training has been to strengthen the team of Board and Superintendent with the intended outcome of increased student achievement and closure of the achievement gap for all students. 

The CRSS raining has focused on forging the bond of commitment to strengthening whole systems of public education, not one school or one part of a community. 

As one of five GCPS School Board members who has participated in the CRSS program, I have reported to District III about outcomes from our training. Among these have been the following: 

• Development of Core Beliefs and Values held by the Board of Education and Superintendent related to public education; 
  
• Creation of a program of Constituent Services standardized throughout the system for the Board members in their elected capacity; 
  
• Development of a Communications Plan and system that allows GCPS to involve constituents, to inform them, and to increase their support of public education. 
  
• Creation of a Theory of Action for Change that provides a basis for principals, teachers, staff, parents, students, and community members to improve student academic performance and increase student academic achievement; 
  

Increasing Civic Capacity for Support of Public Education, led by the Board and Superintendent Team. 

In our Broad-funded initiative, we have explored case studies of failing public school systems in the nation, including those whose focus is on promotion of self interests rather than of student interests. 

We have explored video tapes of School Boards in action, including those with the greatest dysfunction and most glaring and appalling public behavior. 

We have met with School Board members and superintendents from around the nation, those most sincerely interested in improving student achievement and many who are struggling to find and keep support of their community’s public schools. 

Studying and participating in the Center for the Reform of School Systems has been a blessing and a great benefit in and of itself. Now, however, we find that there is another result for our three plus years of study and emphasis on public education. 

On April 1, 2009, the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation announced that Gwinnett County Public Schools is one of five urban school districts nationwide selected as a finalist for the 2009 Broad Prize for Urban Education. 

The Broad Prize for Urban Education is an annual $2 million award that honors the urban school districts that demonstrate the greatest overall performance and improvement in student achievement while reducing achievement gaps among ethnic groups and between low-and-non-low-income students. 

This is the first year that Gwinnett County Public Schools has been a finalist for the award, making the district the first in Georgia to receive the honor. 

The winner of The Broad Prize, to be announced on Wednesday, September 16 in Washington, D.C., will receive $1 million in scholarships for high school seniors who will graduate in 2010. The four finalist districts will each receive $250,000 in scholarships. 

“While all urban school systems across this country face enormous challenges, Gwinnett shows us what a successful public school district can accomplish,” said Eli Broad, founder of The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation. “All involved, from Gwinnett’s teachers to administrators to the district’s leadership, can be proud that their hard work to raise student achievement has paid off for students and, indeed, the entire community.” 

As District III School Board member, I am very proud of our Gwinnett County School System and of our community that has made public education a priority of the most urgent nature. 

We appreciate the accolades and plaudits from The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and look forward to their decision on September 16, 2009. 

Whatever the decision, we know in our hearts that the hard work and effort of multitudes over more than a decade has paid off—making sure that all students can and will learn and keeping our focus on teaching and learning. 

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