Gwinnett wins big education prize

Average ACT Score: 21.9

2012-13 Average SAT Score: 1513

Percentage of Students Eligible for free/reduced lunch: 54

Racial Breakdown

Black: 30.8

Hispanic: 27.4

White: 26.9

Asian: 10.1

Multi-Race: 3.6

American Indian: 0.3

Sources: Gwinnett County Schools, Georgia Department of Education.

The district prize

The Broad Prize for Urban Education is awarded annually to a large school district that shows impressive strides in closing the achievement gap among low-income students. It is named after Eli and Edythe Broad (pronounced like road), who started two Fortune 500 companies and created a foundation to encourage student achievement.

The student grants

An independent review committee of admissions and financial aid professionals from Gwinnett County and Orange County colleges and universities chooses the winners. The committee looks for students who demonstrate financial need for the scholarship and have improved their grades in high school. Most students receive $20,000 scholarships over four years.

Students who receive scholarships must reapply each year to keep them. The students must maintain at least a 2.5 grade point average. About 20 to 30 percent of recipients lose their scholarship each year, Broad officials said. Students can reapply, though.

The district prize

The Broad Prize for Urban Education is awarded annually to a large school district that shows impressive strides in closing the achievement gap among low-income students. It is named after Eli and Edythe Broad (pronounced like road), who started two Fortune 500 companies and created a foundation to encourage student achievement.

The student grants

An independent review committee of admissions and financial aid professionals from Gwinnett County and Orange County colleges and universities chooses the winners. The committee looks for students who demonstrate financial need for the scholarship and have improved their grades in high school. Most students receive $20,000 scholarships over four years.

Students who receive scholarships must reapply each year to keep them. The students must maintain at least a 2.5 grade point average. About 20 to 30 percent of recipients lose their scholarship each year, Broad officials said. Students can reapply, though.

Gwinnett County’s efforts to close the achievement gap among low-income and minority students brought it national acclaim Monday and $500,000 in scholarships for high school seniors graduating next year.

Georgia’s largest school district won the Broad Foundation Prize for Urban Education, the second time since 2010 it has earned the distinction.

The announcement, made in New York City by U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, came with a twist. Gwinnett will share the $1 million award with the Orange County School District in central Florida. It is the first time two districts won the prize.

About 250 Gwinnett administrators, who gathered at a watch party at the school district’s headquarters, were initially confused about which district won. Once it became clear that both districts had won, Gwinnett officials, some of whom had clasped their hands tightly in anticipation, rose to their feet and cheered.

“Excited. Elated!” said Partee Elementary School principal Kimberly Dyer.

Dyer was particularly happy for both districts. She graduated from Jones High School in Orange County in 1991.

Gwinnett and Orange County were the only two finalists selected from 75 of the nation’s largest school districts. Atlanta Public Schools and the Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb and Fulton school districts had been under consideration. Gwinnett is the only Georgia school district that has won the prize. The selection committee nominated Gwinnett, citing 2013 statistics such as:

Gwinnett’s emphasis on testing, such as assessments in most subjects every nine weeks, along with more students taking Advanced Placement courses, has helped improve the district’s performance and caught the Broad Foundation’s attention.

A team of officials visited both districts this spring. A jury that consisted of George W. Bush and Clinton administration cabinet members, former elected officials and education leaders was tasked with selecting the winner. They chose both.

"We wrestled with performance versus improvement," said former Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell, a member of the selection jury, in a press release. "We were impressed with Gwinnett County's steady, sustainable gains and with Orange County's urgency and commitment to improve student achievement quickly. In the end, we decided that both finalists deserved to win the 2014 Broad Prize."

Not everyone is impressed with the prize.

Some critics, such as the grassroots group Parents Across America, have complained the Broad Foundation imposes “corporate-style policies” without parent consent on schools through training of educators. Other critics say the Broad Prize has gone to undeserving districts that have not shown adequate academic improvement.

There was no such talk at Gwinnett’s headquarters Monday.

An independent committee will choose the scholarship winners, students who have shown academic improvement in high school and need the financial help. The scholarships are typically $20,000.

Longtime Gwinnett Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks was thrilled with the prize, but acknowledged that the district has some challenges. He has raised concerns that the amount of money Gwinnett has available to spend per pupil has decreased in recent years, which he fears could hurt teaching and learning. Some high schools with large percentages of low-income students have consistently failed to meet state-approved benchmarks for achievement in math courses.

Wilbanks said he wants to get more parents involved and engaged and said more work is necessary to close the achievement gap.

“We can do better,” he said. “We should do better. We will do better.”