When officials with the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation asked its review board to select candidates for the 2014 Prize for Urban Education, they told members for the first time in the prize鈥檚 history that they could decide no school district merited the award.
The jurors eventually chose two finalists鈥攖he districts in Gwinnett County, Ga., and Orange County, Fla., both of which later split the $1 million award鈥攂ut they made clear their disappointment with the slow pace of progress in urban schools.
This month, the foundation made public what it had been foreshadowing for some time when it announced that it was suspending the annual prize because of 鈥渟luggish鈥� academic progress in urban schools.
Foundation officials also said they would review how best to award a future prize, given major shifts in the urban schooling landscape, including the transformation of systems in New Orleans, where a majority of students now attend charter schools; and the growth of 鈥減ortfolio鈥� model districts where parents choose between regular public and charter schools, efforts that the foundation has championed. (The Broad Foundation provides support for Education Week鈥檚 coverage of personalized learning and system leadership.)
Statement on Regular Districts?
Bruce Reed, the foundation鈥檚 president, said the 鈥渄ifficult鈥� decision came after a careful review. When only two of 75 eligible districts qualified for the prize last year, an examination of the prize鈥檚 impact was warranted, Mr. Reed said. Since its inception in 2002, $16 million in scholarships have been awarded to more than 1,200 low-income students in winning districts to attend college.
鈥淭he point of the prize is to identify, reward, and incentivize progress, not underscore failure,鈥� Mr. Reed said. 鈥淎nd there is exciting progress being made in many communities. We need a lot more of it ... .鈥�
The foundation will continue to award its $250,000 annual prize highlighting excellence in public charter schools.
Many observers see the move to nix the prize as a signal that Broad believes traditional school districts aren鈥檛 able to dramatically boost academic outcomes for low-income and minority students. Mr. Reed said the 鈥渙nly statement we are making is that progress on student achievement is not fast enough.鈥�
The prize has been criticized for selecting finalists from a small pool of eligible districts and choosing winners with less-than-stellar academic records.
鈥淭he initial goal of the prize鈥攖o catalyze dramatic improvement in urban schooling鈥攊s still possible,鈥� said Andy Smarick, a partner at the Washington-based Bellwether Education Partners, who has been among the prize鈥檚 most persistent critics. 鈥淏ut many of us now believe that it鈥檚 not possible to achieve that goal by working through urban districts.鈥�
Frederick M. Hess, the director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, also in Washington, who has served on the prize鈥檚 review panel, said the award brought attention to districts making headway, including Gwinnett County, a two-time winner, and the Aldine school district in Harris County, Texas, which won in 2009.
Diagnostic Reports
Wanda Bamberg, the superintendent of the 69,000-student Aldine district, said she was disappointed with the foundation鈥檚 decision, but understood the reasoning.
In addition to the college scholarships that came with the Broad Prize, the districts鈥攂oth winners and finalists鈥攇ained immensely from the diagnostic visits from the foundation.
The Broad diagnostics team looked at districts鈥� strengths and weaknesses, assisted in setting expectations for student performance, and helped devise ways to meet those expectations, Ms. Bamberg said. (The foundation said it will continue to award grants to conduct those visits.)
In addition, Ms. Bamberg said, because those reports were made public, 鈥測ou always learned something from the other finalists.鈥�
Barbara Jenkins, the superintendent of the 192,000-student Orange County district in Orlando, Fla., agreed.
鈥淚 also like to remind folks that there is no requirement that [Eli and Edythe Broad] give anything to public education, and so I am incredibly grateful for the investment they have made over the past several years to bring the spotlight on urban education and some of our best practices, but more importantly, for the dollars they have given to help young people go to college,鈥� Ms. Jenkins said.
Ms. Jenkins, who is a graduate of Broad鈥檚 special training program for urban superintendents, agrees with the foundation鈥檚 assessment that major efforts are still needed to boost urban districts鈥� performance.
鈥淚 think most urban superintendents will tell you that we are not happy with the pace of improvements, but we have to stay at the job for the sake of our children,鈥� she said.
The Broad Foundation鈥檚 foray into K-12 issues has long been controversial. The foundation draws fire for advancing what critics see as a 鈥渃orporate鈥� approach to school improvement. Many teachers are also wary because of founder Eli Broad鈥檚 support of municipal and school board candidates who have run against candidates aligned with teachers鈥� unions. And the foundation helped fund StudentsFirst, the advocacy group that spearheaded the Vergara v. California case challenging current teacher-tenure policies.
After the announcement of the prize鈥檚 suspension, Joshua Pechthalt, the president of the California Federation of Teachers, told The Los Angeles Times: 鈥淭he further he and his foundation stay away from public education, the better. Eli Broad鈥檚 track record on public education has been shameful.鈥�
Mr. Reed, from the foundation, said any new urban-education prize will take into account the impact it will have on urban education. No timetable has been given for a decision on the prize鈥檚 renewal, or whether the suspension will become permanent.
