Tuesday, May 21, 2013

MEDIA ADVISORY -- National Broad Prize Education Panel Tours San Diego Unified School District

MEDIA ADVISORY from the San Diego Unified School District, May 21, 2013

Reporters and editors: As you may be aware, San Diego Unified School District is one of the four school districts across the country in the running for this year's Broad Prize, awarded each year to the most improved urban school district.

The panel investigating the district will be in San Diego this week and will hold a news conference on Wednesday, May 22. See information below from The Broad Foundation for details.

Jack Brandais | Communications Department | San Diego Unified School District | (619) 725-5570 (Desk) | (619) 607-0477 (Cell)

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NATIONAL BROAD PRIZE EDUCATION PANEL TOURS SAN DIEGO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

Evaluation will inform decision of which district will win top award in $1 million Broad Prize for most improved urban school district; Best practices to be shared nationwide


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Contact: Karen Denne, The Broad Foundation, 310.954.5058

Linda Zintz, San Diego Unified School District, 619.725.5578

What: National educational experts will tour the San Diego Unified School District to gather information for a jury of former U.S. secretaries of education, governors, university presidents and CEOs to decide whether San Diego Unified will win the 2013 Broad Prize for Urban Education, the nation's largest education award that carries with it $550,000 in college scholarships. This four-day "site visit" will include interviews with district officials, principals, teachers, staff, parents, students and community representatives, as well as classroom observations. Best practices collected during the site visit will also be shared with urban districts nationwide.

When: Wednesday, May 22, 2013

10:30 a.m. School and classroom tour with San Diego Unified School District Superintendent Bill Kowba, Superintendent Designate Cindy Marten, Board of Education President Dr. John Lee Evans, panel of national education experts, and Kearny DMD High School Principal Cheryl Hibbeln.

11:15 a.m. Media availability, Q&A with researchers, Broad Foundation representative, superintendent, superintendent designate and board president.

Where:

Kearny High School of Digital Media and Design
Library Media Center
7651 Wellington Street
San Diego 92111
858.496.8370

Note to reporters: Please meet in front of the auditorium

Why: San Diego Unified is one of only four urban school districts in the country to be in the running for the 2013 Broad (rhymes with "road") Prize for Urban Education and $550,000 in scholarships. San Diego was chosen as a finalist in March for having topped 71 other large urban districts nationwide in making student gains. This is the first time that the San Diego Unified School District has been a finalist since the award was started in 2002.

The Broad Prize is awarded annually by The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, a national education philanthropy based in Los Angeles that seeks to ensure that every student in an urban public school has the opportunity to succeed. The award honors urban school districts that demonstrate the greatest overall performance and improvement in student achievement in the nation while reducing income and ethnic achievement gaps.

The winning school district, which will be announced on Sept. 25 at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., will receive $550,000 in college scholarships for high school seniors who graduate in 2014. Each finalist district will receive $150,000 in scholarships. Seventy-five large urban school districts nationwide were eligible for the 2013 Broad Prize. Other finalist districts this year are: Cumberland County Schools, N.C., the Corona-Norco Unified School District in Riverside County, Calif. and the Houston Independent School District. For more information, please visit www.broadprize.com.

The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation was founded by entrepreneur Eli Broad and his wife Edythe, both graduates of Detroit Public Schools. Bringing together top education experts and practitioners, the foundation funds system-wide programs and policies that strengthen public schools by creating environments that allow good teachers to do great work and enable students of all backgrounds to learn and thrive.

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