http://www.sisd.net/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=623

Socorro Independent School District
Socorro Independent School District -
Socorro Independent School District Wins $250,000 in Broad Prize Scholarships


 
Socorro Independent School District Wins $250,000 in Broad Prize
Scholarships									
The Socorro Independent School District in El Paso,
Texas has won $250,000 in Broad Prize college scholarships as a finalist for the
nation’s most improved urban school district, The Eli and Edythe Broad
Foundation announced on Wednesday, September 16.U.S. Secretary of Education Arne
Duncan joined philanthropist Eli Broad and members of Congress on Capitol Hill
in Washington, D.C. today to announce that the Aldine Independent School
District outside Houston won the 2009 Broad Prize for Urban Education, the
largest education award in the country. The $2 million Broad (rhymes with
“road”) Prize is an annual award that honors the five large urban school
districts – out of the 100 largest – that demonstrate the strongest student
achievement and improvement while narrowing achievement gaps between income and
ethnic groups. The Broad Prize winner was selected by a bipartisan jury of eight
prominent American leaders from government, education, business and civic
sectors, including three former U.S. secretaries of education. The money goes
directly to graduating high school seniors for college scholarships. As a
finalist for The Broad Prize, the Socorro Independent School District will
receive $250,000 in college scholarships for graduating seniors next spring. The
other finalists are Broward County Public Schools in southern Florida; Gwinnett
County Public Schools outside Atlanta; and the Long Beach Unified School
District in California. This was the first year that Socorro and Gwinnett were
in the running for the award, the fourth for Aldine and the second for Broward.
Long Beach won the award in 2003, and this was the third year it returned as a
finalist. “Socorro students, teachers, parents, administrators and the community
deserve to celebrate today,” said Eli Broad, founder of The Eli and Edythe Broad
Foundation. “To be among the top five urban school districts in the nation is no
easy feat. It’s the result of smart student-focused strategies and hard work on
the part of the entire community.” Among the reasons Socorro stood out this year
among large urban school districts: Outperformed other similar Texas districts.
In 2008, Socorro outperformed other districts in Texas that serve students with
similar family income levels in reading and math at all school levels
(elementary, middle, high school), according to The Broad Prize methodology. The
district also showed greater improvement than other similar Texas districts
between 2005 and 2008 in reading and math at all school levels. Demonstrated
greater improvement by racial, ethnic and income subgroups. Between 2005 and
2008, Socorro was more successful than the state in increasing the percentage of
all students—as well as low-income and Hispanic students measured separately—who
achieved proficiency in reading and math at all school levels. For example,
between 2005 and 2008, the percentage of Socorro’s low-income students who
achieved proficiency in high school reading increased by an average of 7
percentage points each year, outpacing the state. Narrowed achievement gaps.
Between 2005 and 2008, Socorro narrowed achievement gaps between Hispanic
students and the state average for white students in reading and math at all
school levels. In addition, Socorro narrowed achievement gaps between low-income
students and the state average for non-low-income students in reading and math
at all school levels. For example, the district narrowed the gap between
low-income students and the state average for non-low-income students by 18
percentage points in middle school math. Demonstrated strong district-wide
policies and practices. At the district level, Socorro predicts which students
are at risk of dropping out of school, monitors them, makes sure they catch up
academically and focuses on keeping them in school. Socorro also invests heavily
in English language learners, shares instructional leadership between the
schools and the central office, and utilizes a year-round academic calendar to
minimize learning loss during long student breaks. Each year, 100 of the largest
urban school districts nationwide are automatically eligible for The Broad
Prize. Districts cannot apply for or be nominated for this award. For a full
electronic press kit, including additional student outcomes, policies and
practices that earned Socorro its distinction as a Broad Prize finalist, please
visit www.broadprize.org. 
Because Socorro was a finalist for this year’s Broad
Prize, its high school seniors who graduate in 2010 will be eligible for
$250,000 in college scholarships. Broad Prize scholarships are awarded to
students who demonstrate significant financial need and show a record of
academic improvement during their high school career. Scholarship recipients who
enroll in four-year colleges will receive up to $20,000 paid out over four years
($5,000 per year). Broad Prize scholars who enroll in two-year colleges receive
up to $5,000 scholarships paid out over two years ($2,500 per year). For more,
visit: http://www.broadprize.org/scholarship_program/overview.html. Previous
Broad Prize winners include the Brownsville Independent School District, Texas
(2008), the New York City Department of Education (2007), Boston Public Schools
(2006), Norfolk Public Schools, Va. (2005), the Garden Grove Unified School
District, Calif. (2004), the Long Beach Unified School District, Calif. (2003)
and the Houston Independent School District (2002). The selection jury that
chose this year’s winner included: Henry Cisneros, chairman and CEO of CityView
America, former president of Univision and former U.S. secretary of housing and
urban development James B. Hunt, Jr., chairman of the board of the Hunt
Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy and former governor of North
Carolina Shirley Ann Jackson, president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and
former chair of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Roderick Paige, chairman
and founder of Chartwell Education Group and former U.S. secretary of education
Richard W. Riley, former U.S. secretary of education and former governor of
South Carolina Donna Shalala, president of the University of Miami and former
U.S. secretary of health and human services Margaret Spellings, executive vice
president of the National Chamber Foundation and former U.S. secretary of
education Andrew L. Stern, international president of Service Employees
International Union The selection jury evaluated publicly available student
performance data compiled and analyzed by MPR Associates, Inc., a leading
national education research consulting firm. In addition, the jury evaluated the
five finalist districts’ policies and practices, based on site visits,
interviews with administrators, teachers, principals, parents, community
leaders, school board members and union representatives and classroom
observations. The site visits were conducted by a team of education
practitioners led by SchoolWorks, an education consulting company in Beverly,
Mass. Socorro was originally selected as a finalist by a review board of 20
prominent education researchers, policy leaders, practitioners and executives
from leading universities, national education associations, think-tanks and
foundations that evaluated publicly available student performance data. The Eli
and Edythe Broad Foundation is a national venture philanthropy established by
entrepreneur and philanthropist Eli Broad to advance entrepreneurship for the
public good in education, science and the arts. The Broad Foundation’s education
work is focused on dramatically improving urban K-12 public education through
better governance, management, labor relations and competition. The Broad
Foundation’s Internet address is www.broadfoundation.org. 
 
12440 Rojas
Drive, El Paso, TX 79928 - (915) 937.0000Socorro Independent School District
does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex,
disability, or age in its programs, activities or employment.		

Internal Links:

External Links: