TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE: It's a day of firsts for the Broad Foundation. On the morning of September 22, nonprofit organization The Broad Foundation announced that for the first time in its 13-year history, two districts have been awarded the 2014 Broad Prize for Urban Education. Gwinnett County Public Schools in Georgia and Orange County Public Schools in Florida will split the $1 million prize, each receiving $500K in college scholarships for high school seniors.
But that's not the only first for the Prize. This was the first year that the Prize's review board only opted to advance two school districts onto the nine-member selection jury for final consideration, as opposed to the usual four or five districts of years past. Broad's press release describes that the low numbers reflect the board's overall "disappointment with the overall progress of urban school systems across America."
However, Broad reps don't want this reality to overshadow the success of their winners. "We may have a long way to go in this country to improve urban public education, but the school systems in Gwinnett and Orange counties give us good reason to celebrate what we’ve accomplished so far,” says Bruce Reed, president of The Broad Foundation.
