The Broad Foundation announced this week that the Garden Grove Unified School District in Orange County, CA is the winner of its 2004 urban prize for education - the largest and most prestigious such award in public education. Each year, the Foundation awards $1 million in college scholarships to the most outstanding urban school districts in the nation. This year, Garden Grove received $500,000 in scholarship money, and four finalists - the Aldine Independent School District in Houston, TX, Boston Public Schools, Charlotte-Mecklenberg Schools, and Norfolk (VA) Public Schools - each received $125,000. These prizes recognize the districts' overall improvement in student achievement and narrowing of achievement gaps across ethnic and income groups.
"Broad prize for urban education," press release, Broad Foundation, September 20, 2004
"California district wins public education prize," Associated Press, September 20, 2004