(April 2, 2008, updated) -- The LB Unified School District has again been named one of five finalists nationally for the Broad Prize for Urban Education, an honor that the private Broad foundation bestows on urban School Districts it says are making the greatest progress in raising student achievement.

Image source: LBUSD website

This morning's (April 2) announcement of the 2008 award finalists, visible before dawn on the Broad [rhymes with "road"] Foundation website, puts LBUSD among five School Districts nationally up for the prize. The 2008 award, to be announced in October at a NYC gala, honors urban school disticts that the L.A.-based private foundation (named for developer Eli Broad and his wife) concludes show the greatest overall performance and improvement in student achievement while reducing achievement gaps among ethnic groups and between high and low income students.

LBUSD won the Broad Prize in 2003...and has been a finalist in every year it's been eligible. LBUSD's finalist status assures LB will receive a six-figure sum for student scholarships. Each of four of the Broad Prize finalist school districts will each receive $125,000 in scholarships for graduating seniors...and the winner will receive $500,000 for scholarships.

[update] "Long Beach's commitment to students again pays huge dividends," said LBUSD Superintendent Christopher J. Steinhauser in a release issued shortly after dawn. "What an extraordinary accomplishment it is to be named for the fourth time as one of the top school systems in the nation. We deeply appreciate the hard work of our teachers, parents, support staff, administrators, Board of Education and our many business and community partners. Together we're building brighter futures for our students, and we're providing a sense of hope for America's public schools."

State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Jack O'Connell, sent his congratulations to LBUSD: "This is a tremendous recognition that the dedicated teachers and administrators of Long Beach have earned not once, but four times. I am so proud of the amazing results this district has achieved. Long Beach Unified is a leader in meeting and exceeding the high expectations we hold for students and schools in this demanding and complex time."

LBUSD says in the release that among the reasons it was selected again:

In 2007, Long Beach outperformed other California districts serving students with similar income levels in reading and math at all grade levels: elementary, middle and high school, according to The Broad Prize methodology. In addition, Long Beach's low-income, African-American and Hispanic students outperformed their peers in similar districts in reading and math at all grade levels. Long Beach's Hispanic and low-income students achieved higher average proficiency rates than their state counterparts in reading and math at all grade levels. In addition, Long Beach's African-American students achieved higher average proficiency rates than their state counterparts in math at all levels and in elementary and middle school reading levels.

Besides LBUSD, this year's four other finalists are the Miami-Dade County Public Schools (third consecutive year as a finalist), Aldine Independennt School District near Houston (third time a finalist), Broward County Public Schools, Fort Lauderdale, FL and Brownsville Independent School District on the Texas-Mexico border.

In a release, the Broad Foundation says "one commonality among this year's finalists, all of which serve significant percentages of Hispanic students, is that Hispanic students made notable gains in each district on multiple indicators. For example, Hispanic students in all finalist districts both outperformed and showed greater improvement than their peers in similar districts in their respective states. In addition, all five made notable progress in narrowing achievement gaps between Hispanic students and their white peers."

The release says that this year:

100 of the largest urban school districts nationwide were eligible for The Broad Prize. The five finalist districts were selected by a review board of 19 prominent education researchers, policy leaders, practitioners and executives from leading universities, national education associations, think-tanks and foundations. The review board evaluated publicly available academic performance data compiled and analyzed by MPR Associates, Inc., a leading national education research consulting firm, and selected the five districts that stood out in areas that included:

• Academic performance and improvement on state exams compared with other districts in the state with similar low-income student populations

• Closure of income and ethnic achievement gaps

• College readiness indicators such as graduation rates, SAT, ACT and Advanced Placement exam data.

The release says that over the next two months, "teams of educational researchers and practitioners led by SchoolWorks, an educational consulting company, will conduct site visits in each finalist district to gather qualitative information, interview district administrators, conduct focus groups with teachers and principals and observe classrooms. The teams will also talk to parents, community leaders, school board members and union representatives. A selection jury of prominent individuals from business, industry, education and public service will then review both the performance data and the qualitative site visit reports to choose the winning school district."

Previous Broad Prize winners include New York City's Department of Education (2007); Boston Public Schools (2006); Norfolk, VA Public Schools (2005); Garden Grove, CA Unified School District. (2004); LBUSD (2003) and Houston Independent School District (2002).

This year's Broad Prize finalist announcement comes as voters in parts of LB decide whether to reelect the LB School Board's current President and Vice President.

On April 8, West/Central LB voters will decide between Board President Dr. Felton Williams and teacher Rosa Diaz...and in SE LB, voters have a choice between Board VP Jon Meyer, mediator/retired labor lawyer Paul Crost and retired teacher/retired LBUSD administrator Karen Thomas Hilburn (a candidate needs 50% + 1 to avoid a June runoff).

As in any election, the challengers have hammered the incumbents...but if LBUSD's leadership is doing such a lousy job (as the challengers contend) that voters should remove incumbent School Boardmembers, why does LBUSD keep winning national magnitude awards?

Board President Williams and Board VP Meyer have both cited (among other awards/honors) the Broad Prize (and other awards/honors) as evidence that others independently recognize that LBUSD is doing work worthy of commendation.

And as separately reported by LBReport.com, a national magazine whose readership includes school administrators nationally, District Administration, recently published an independently written article praising LBUSD Superintendent Chris Steinhauser and LBUSD policies.

Ms. Hilburn has tackled the awards issue prior to this morning's announcement in public appearances and writings. "We need to take the human count, not the award count," she said early in her campaign and has reiterated subsequently. Ms. Hilburn has said that when New York City won the Broad Prize, its Superintendent Joel Klein was grateful for the recognition and prize money but added "that winning meant his District had gone from Awful to Merely Adequate."

Mr. Crost has previously acknowledged District accomplishments but has indicated that as a Boardmember he'd press for greater openness and take a more active role in questioning/challenging LBUSD management proposals and policies as he feels necessary. Challenger Rosa Diaz says the incumbent has been out of touch with his constituents, especially those with special needs.

Challengers Diaz and Crost are supported by the Teachers Ass'n of Long Beach (TALB)...which won two of five School Board seats in the 2006 election cycle...only to have one of its successful endorsees, now-Boardmember Michael Ellis, censured by his School Board colleagues and targeted by a recall financed by the LB Area Chamber of Commerce. Diaz and Crost both say they're not TALB tools.

Challenger Hilburn says she's not endorsed by TALB "or the LBUSD insider team," adding that "no special interest group is involved" in her campaign.

The reelection of School Board President Williams and Board VP Meyer is supported by the LB Police Officers Ass'n and the LB Firefighters Ass'n. and the LB Area Chamber of Commerce political action committee.