Broad Prize for Urban Education
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The Broad Prize for Urban Education is the largest education award given to school districts in the U.S. The $1 million prize is awarded each year to urban school districts that demonstrate the greatest overall performance and improvement in student achievement as well as a reduction in the achievement gap for low-income students and students of color.[1]
Goals
The Broad Prize for Urban Education lists four main goals on their website:[1]
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Eligibility
School districts cannot apply for the Broad Prize. Instead, they are selected based on specific criteria. In order to be considered for the Broad Prize, a school district must serve at least 42,500 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. At least 40 percent of those students must qualify for the free or reduced-price lunch program. The school district must also be in an urban area, as defined in the National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data.[3]
If a state has more than 10 school districts eligible using the above criteria, only the top 10 such school districts by enrollment will be considered. Schools that have won in previous years are ineligible for future Broad Prizes.[3]
Selection process
Candidates for the Broad Prize are selected through a five-step process.[4]
Identifying eligible districts
Each year 75 eligible school districts are identified as candidates for the Broad Prize. School districts are chosen based on size, low-income enrollment, minority enrollment and urban environment.[4]
Choosing finalists
Four finalists for the Broad Prize are chosen by a review board made up of educational leaders across the country. A list the 2014 review board members can be found here. To narrow the pool of eligible candidates, the review board uses information gathered by RTI International, which is one of the country's leading education research and consulting firms. The review board takes into account performance and improvement on state-mandated tests and comparisons between similar districts, reductions of achievement gaps between ethnic groups and socioeconomic groups, graduation rates, Advanced Placement exam scores and participation rates, ACT and SAT scores and participation rates and the district's demographic data.[4]
Site visits
The four finalists that have been chosen by the review board receive site visits from the RMC Research Corporation, which is an education consulting company. The site visit team spends four days at each finalist school gathering additional data through classroom visits and interviews with all members of the school, from principals and teachers to students and parents to union and community leaders.[4] The rubric used to analyze the additional data gathered on the site visits can be found here.
Determining the winner
Using the data gathered on the four chosen finalists, a selection jury determines the winner. The selection jury is made up of nationally prominent individuals from business, industry, government and public service backgrounds.[4] A list of the 2014 selection jury can be found here.
Announcing the winner
The winner of the Broad Prize is announced in the fall at a three-part event. The event includes a panel discussion, a media event and a celebratory reception.[4]
Scholarships
Graduating seniors from the winning and finalist school districts are eligible for two-year or four-year scholarships, depending on the type of institution they attend. Those who attend two-year schools are given $2,500 each year, for a total of $5,000. Those who attend four-year schools are given $5,000 each year, for a total of $20,000. The scholarships are awarded by Scholarship America.[5]
To be eligible for a scholarship, students in the winning and finalist school districts must demonstrate academic improvement between ninth grade and 11th grade, show financial need, be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and submit a Broad Prize scholarship application.[6]
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Broad Prize for Urban Education, "Overview," accessed June 27, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Broad Prize for Urban Education, "Eligible School Districts," accessed June 27, 2014
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 The Broad Prize for Urban Education, "Process and Criteria," accessed June 27, 2014
- ↑ The Broad Prize for Urban Education, "Scholarship Program Overview," accessed June 27, 2014
- ↑ The Broad Prize for Urban Education, "Scholarship Program Eligibility," accessed June 27, 2014
