Gwinnett County Public Schools is in line to win one of biggest honors in education.
Gwinnett is one of two finalists for the Broad Foundation prize for urban education. The other finalist is Orange County Public Schools in Florida.
The top prize will be $750,000 in college scholarships for graduating high school seniors.
Gwinnett, the state’s largest school district, was chosen from among 75 of the nation’s largest school districts for the prize that honors urban school districts that demonstrate the greatest overall performance and improvement in student achievement while reducing achievement gaps among low-income students and students of color.
Gwinnett was cited by the foundation for having a greater percentage of African-American students reach advanced academic levels and for higher SAT scores.
For example, 40 percent of Gwinnett’s African-American elementary school students reached the advanced academic level on the state science assessment compared with 20 percent of African-American elementary school students in the rest of the state, county officials said.
Gwinnett won the Broad Prize in 2010 and was a finalist in 2009.
“To be named the 2010 winner of The Broad Prize for Urban Education was amazing for our district and for Gwinnett County,” Gwinnett’s Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks said in a statement. “However, to be named a finalist in 2014 in our first year of eligibility as a former winner is even more impressive as it speaks to the fact that our very good school system is not content with the status quo. This recognition acknowledges that our work to help students succeed in a changing and competitive world is sustainable.”
This year’s winner will be announced on Sept. 22 at a ceremony in New York City.
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