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by Zach Miners
Five school districts -- all in predominantly Southern states -- were announced today by the
The five finalists are Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in North Carolina;
Since 2002, when the award was first established by the
The winner of the prize, which will be announced on October 19 in New York, will receive $1 million in college scholarships for high school seniors who will graduate in 2011. The four finalist districts will each receive $250,000 in college scholarships.
"Basically, we've already won the prize -- the $250,000," says Jerry Weast, superintendent of
An enrollment uptick of nearly 15,000 students since 2002 has rocked the district hard: Weast says that administrators began setting ambitious academic goals, such as having 80 percent of its seniors college-ready by 2014, just as the district's demographic makeup began to radically change. Eight years ago, about 50 percent of students were white; now just 38 percent are. The percentage of English language learners in the 142,000-student district has also increased by 100 percent in the same time period. "At the same time, we've raised test scores every year," says Weast.
In Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools in North Carolina, Superintendent Peter Gorman says the school system owes much of its success to a reform program known as "strategic staffing." Under the model, the district targets teachers who have a track record of increasing student achievement, and they are transferred, along with a principal, into 20 of the district's most challenged schools. "We believe in putting our most effective teachers where we need them most, and that all kids deserve access to them," he says.
Public schools in other challenging districts such as Chicago or New York sometimes undergo restaffing or complete closures, but Gorman says Charlotte-Mecklenburg is the only district he knows of that transfers its teachers and principals among schools in such a way.
The program is delivering results. North Carolina uses a growth model to measure the academic progress of its students, and four years ago, only about 54 percent of schools in the 137,000-student district averaged a year's growth for students in a year's time. Last year, almost 90 percent of schools averaged a year's growth.
In the five finalist districts, a higher percentage of black, Hispanic, and low-income students performed at the highest achievement level on state assessments in reading and math than did their statewide counterparts in 2009, according to the
"These prizes show that you can raise the bar and close the gap," says Weast. "It doesn't have to be either/or."
© U.S. News & World Report
Education: Five Minority School Districts In Running for Broad Prize | Zach Miners
© U.S. News & World Report