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

September 11, 2009 

Gwinnett County in Running for $1 Million Broad Prize 


On September 16, 2009, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will announce at 11:34 a.m. the winner of the $1 million Broad Foundation prize for being the best urban school system in the United States in 2009. 

The announcement will take place in the new Visitors’ Center at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Also in attendance will be Mr. Eli Broad, founder of the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation of Los Angeles. 

For the last seven years, the Broad Foundation has awarded $2 million in scholarships annually to support public education systems that are succeeding in closing the achievement gap for the nation’s school children. 

In 2009, Gwinnett County Public School system was selected as one of five finalists for the Broad Prize of $1 million. The school system led the 180 systems in the State of Georgia in closing the achievement gap for African-America, Hispanic, and Caucasian students, based on publicly disclosed measures of student achievement. 

The Broad Prize will be announced with the five finalist school systems in attendance. Representing Gwinnett County Public Schools will be the following: 

Superintendent/CEO J. Alvin Wilbanks; 
Chairman of the Board Dan Seckinger; 
Vice Chairman of the Board Dr. Mary Kay Murphy; 
Dr. Robert McClure; 
Ms. Carole Boyce; 
Ms. Louise Radloff. 
Others attending from Gwinnett County School system include: 

Dr. Frances Davis, Chief Human Resource Officer; 
Ms. Berney Kirkland, Chief of Staff to the Superintendent/CEO; 
Dr. Steve Flynt, Chief Academic Officer 

School Board members and Superintendents from the other four finalist districts will also be in attendance. These include the following districts: 

Wants Bambert, Ed.D. Superintendent, Aldine Independent School District. Houston; Texas; 
Xavier De La Torre, Ed.D., Socorro Independent School District, El Paso, Texas; 
James F. Netter, Broward County Public Schools, Fort Lauderdale, Florida; 
Chris Steinhauser, Long Beach Unified School District; California 

The Honorable Mayor Adrian Fenty of Washington, D.C. will bring welcoming remarks to those in attendance. Also participating in the ceremonies will be members of the U.S. Congress, followed by a closing reception. 

The winning district will receive $1 million in scholarships. The other four finalist districts will receive $250,000 each in scholarships for students in the Class of 2010. 

Previous Broad Prize winners include the following: 

Brownsville Independent School District, Texas – 2008; 
New York City Department of Education, New York – 2007; 
Boston Public Schools, Massachusetts – 2006; 
Norfolk Public Schools, Virginia – 2005; 
Garden Grove Unified School District, California – 2004; 
Long Beach Unified School District, California – 2003; 
Houston Independent School District, Texas – 2002 

Every year 100 of the America’s largest urban school districts are eligible for The Broad Prize. This year’s finalists were selected by a review board of 20 prominent education researchers, policy leaders, practitioners, and executives from leading universities, national education associations, think=tanks, and foundations. The review board evaluated publicly available academic performance data compiled and analyzed by MPR Associates, Inc., a leading national education research consulting firm. 

“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.” 

Among the reasons Gwinnett was chosen as a 2009 Broad Prize finalist were the following: 

The district outperformed other districts in Georgia that serve students with similar income levels in reading and math at all school levels )elementary, middle, and high school) according to the Broad Prize methodology; 

Between 2005 and 2008, participation rates rose for African American and Hispanic students taking the SAT, ACT, and Advanced Placement exams, as did average ACT scores for Hispanic students; 

In recent years, Gwinnett has narrowed achievement gaps between both African American and Hispanic students and white students in reading and math in elementary and middle school. For example, between 3006 and 2008, the gap between Gwinnett’s Hispanic students and their white peers narrowed by 0 percentage points in elementary school reading. 

Representatives from an educational consulting company conducted site visits to each finalist district using a research-based rubric to gather qualitative information, interview district administrators, conduct focus groups with teachers and principals and observe classrooms. The team also talked to parents, community leaders, school board members, and others. 

A selection jury of prominent individuals from business, industry, education, and public service then chose the winning school district after reviewing both the performance data and the qualitative site visit reports. 

We will let Inside Gwinnett readers and other community members know the results of the September 16 announcement about the Broad Prize Winner for 2009. 

As District III School Board member and Vice Chairman of the Gwinnett County Board of Education, it is a privilege to serve our community and to participate in the history that is being made by the principals, teachers, staff, parents, students, and community members of Gwinnett County, Georgia. 

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