Boston School Committee selected as finalist for national award

BOSTON - The Boston School Committee has been selected as one of three finalists for the first annual award for Urban School Board Excellence. The award is sponsored by the National School Boards Association's Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE).

The award is designed to recognize the correlation between successful school board work and policy-making and improved student achievement. It also recognizes the school district that demonstrates excellence in four core areas selected by CUBE - board governance, closing the gap, academic achievement and community engagement.

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who is responsible for appointing the members of the School Committee, congratulated them and the district for this honor.

"The leadership of the School Committee and Superintendent Payzant and his staff has allowed this district to make great improvement in student achievement," he said. "We have worked very hard to find the most qualified and dedicated people to serve on our School Committee and I am very pleased with the work they have done."

School Committee Chair Elizabeth Reilinger said being selected as a finalist is another example of the recognition the BPS is receiving for its hard work, and validates the progress that is being made.

"We are proud of the strong collaboration that exists between the Boston School Committee and Superintendent Payzant and the BPS," she said. "By working together, we have been able to focus on improving achievement for all students in the Boston Public Schools. We are honored to be recognized for our efforts"

Superintendent Thomas W. Payzant agreed. "With the support of the School Committee, we have been able to make great strides in moving toward achieving proficiency for all students," he said. "We hope to serve as an example for other urban districts across the country."

The other two school districts selected as finalists are Chula Vista Elementary School District in California and Norfolk Public Schools in Virginia.

The finalists were selected by a panel of judges based on materials submitted by the school districts and independent follow-up research. The judges were Arnold Fege, Public Education Network; Audrey Hutchinson, National League of Cities; Michael Usdan, Institute for Educational Leadership and JoAnn Yee, California School Boards Association.

The winning district will be announced on September 17, 2004 and the award presented in October at the CUBE Annual Conference in San Antonio, TX. The winning district will receive a $5,000 contribution to their student scholarship fund.

The award is supported by McGraw-Hill Education.

CUBE is a network of more than 100 school districts in 38 states, with an enrollment of almost nine million students.