I just found a solid tidbit out of South Bay-adjacent Long Beach in my overzealous junk mail filter. (Don't you love those things? They frequently filter out what you want yet sometimes send through offers for services that should remain unspecified on a school-centered blog. Go figure.)
Anyhoo, perennial Broad Prize for Urban Education finalist Long Beach Unified is in the mix again this year, one of just five districts nationwide - and the only in California - competing for the $1-million in awards given annually to urban districts making the greatest progress in raising student achievement. The winning school system will get $500,000 for student scholarships; the four remaining finalists will each receive $125,000.
Up against Long Beach are Aldine Independent School District, near Houston; Broward County Public Schools, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Brownsville Independent School District, on the Texas-Mexico border; and Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
The awards will be announced Oct. 14 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
A finalist every year its been eligible for consideration, Long Beach actually won the kitty in 2003. Only one other California district -- Garden Grove Unified, in 2004 -- has ever won the top prize.
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