HISD wins big education prize
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
The Houston Independent School District won a prestigious national education prize Wednesday, an award that recognizes gains in student test scores and comes with $550,000 in college scholarships.
HISD, which also won the inaugural Broad Prize for Urban Education in 2002, is the only district to take home the award twice. The nation’s seventh-largest district was a finalist last year but lost to Miami-Dade schools, a five-time nominee.
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced the winner at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., attended by HISD Superintendent Terry Grier, several school board members and other staff.
In Houston, employees gathered at district headquarters with popcorn and pom-poms to watch a live broadcast on a big screen. Dozens jumped to their feet and applauded upon hearing the news. “So awesome!” one exclaimed.
HISD beat three other finalists: Cumberland County Schools in North Carolina and the San Diego and Corona-Norco school districts in California.
Seventy-five of the nation’s largest districts serving high concentrations of poor and minority students were eligible for the prize, sponsored by the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation in California.
Aldine ISD won the prize in 2009 and Houston’s YES Prep won the inaugural charter school award last year. The KIPP charter network was a finalist in 2013.
Broad officials noted several reasons why HISD stood out, including a high percentage of minority students