Superintendent Payzant selected for national educator award

LAS VEGAS, NV - At a gala dinner last night in Las Vegas, NV, with representatives from 64 urban public school districts, Boston Superintendent Thomas W. Payzant received the 15th annual Richard R. Green Award in Urban Excellence for his leadership and the progress the Boston Public Schools has demonstrated among its students. The award includes $10,000 for a scholarship for one high school student in the district.

The Green Award is considered by many to be the top education award in the country and is presented annually by the Council of Great City Schools.

Since October 1995, the Boston Public Schools has benefited tremendously from Superintendent Payzant's leadership. His mantra of "teaching and learning" is familiar to everyone involved in education in the City of Boston, as is his unwavering dedication to ensuring every student in the BPS has access to a top-notch education. In a country where, on average, only 15% of urban superintendents serve for more than five years, his accomplishments and nearly ten-year term of service are especially impressive.

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino and the Boston School Committee have been among the Superintendent's biggest supporters and their efforts and work to improve the BPS are a big reason for the success seen in schools.

"Tom Payzant has been instrumental in making the Boston Public Schools among the best urban school systems in the nation," Mayor Menino said. "His extraordinary focus, commitment and innovative approach have become models for us all. I am delighted that he has received the Green award."

In her letter of recommendation, School Committee Chair Elizabeth Reilinger said that Superintendent Payzant is to be congratulated for the progress the district has made under his leadership.

"Superintendent Payzant is a visionary leader in urban public education," she said. "He steadfastly holds to the belief that all children deserve a quality education, and all children, regardless of circumstances, can achieve at high levels."

Superintendent Payzant has worked to develop a district-wide approach to improving instruction in all schools. He has consistently stated that his main goal has been to improve the performance of all students. The development of the five-year education reform plans Focus on Children and most recently Focus on Children II has played an integral role in shaping the approach that schools take to student learning. The center of the work is on aligning district goals to state and federal curriculum standards and expectations. Each school now develops and maintains a Whole School Improvement Plan that sets clear goals and allows for the measurement of progress toward those goals. The plans are available to families and the community to help build a better understanding of the work taking place.

The results on recent state and national tests show that the effort is working. On the most recent MCAS exams, the improvement of the BPS outpaced that of the state average. On the 2003 exams, results for the BPS improved in almost every grade and subject. The percent of student passing the grade 10 exams (a requirement for high school graduation) on their first attempt has increased from 43% (1998) to 77% (2004). More importantly, the percent of student scoring in the top two performance categories has continued to increase on an annual basis. This year, the rate of African American and Latino students progressing into Advanced and Proficient levels was far greater than that of White and Asian students across the board.

The improvement can also been seen on BPS student performance on the SAT tests, where scores have increased from 421 to 434 in Verbal and from 432 to 453 in Math from 1999 to 2003, a combined improvement that far outpaces the gains at both the state and national levels.

Much of the academic success in the schools can be traced to adjustments to the support structure of the district. Working with the School Committee and the community, Superintendent Payzant has overseen several changes to the administrative staff including, among many other adjustments, the strengthening of his liaisons to schools including three Deputy Superintendents and Assistant Superintendents who work directly with schools, a Deputy Superintendent who works with schools and staff on curriculum and a Deputy Superintendent who works with families and the community.

Additionally, he was worked to see several new and innovative approaches to education realized including partnering with the Boston Teachers Union to establish Pilot Schools, which function like in-district Charter Schools, providing leaders with the ability to take a more creative approach to education. The district is also a leader in the nation on high school reform and the move to create small learning communities and small schools that provide staff with the opportunity to better engage students.

The way in which teachers and school administrators are recruited, trained and retained has also been a top goal for the district. Professional development for teachers has been strengthened with a new coaching model that allows teachers to learn from and share with their peers. Working with public and private funders, the BPS has designed and implemented the Boston Principal Fellows and Boston Teacher Residency programs that streamline the way in which those positions are filled while providing and maintaining the highest standards for training and performance.

The Boston Public Schools has been recognized and rewarded on many levels by national public interest and education organizations. For the third year in a row in 2004, the BPS was one of five finalists for the Broad Prize for Urban Education and has secured $375,000 in scholarships for students ($125,000 each time). The district has also received major financial and programmatic support from the Annenberg, Carnegie, Gates and other foundations for work on school reform.

Before returning to the Boston area, where he spent his childhood, Superintendent Payzant served as the Assistant Secretary for Elementary & Secondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education. He has also served as Superintendent of Eugene (OR) Public Schools, Oklahoma City Public Schools and the San Diego Unified School District.

Since 1992, the Council of the Great City Schools and ARAMARK have worked together to sponsor the Green Award.

For more information on the Green Award or to view a complete list of finalists, please visit the Council of Great City Schools at www.cgcs.org.

For more information on Superintendent Payzant or the Boston Public Schools, please visit www.bostonpublicschools.org/supt.