Northside: A national finalist

A team of educational experts representing The Broad Foundation visited Northside this week for an intensive evaluation of District practices.

Northside is one of five national finalists for the 2007 Broad Prize for Urban Education, awarded annually to the school district that has made the greatest improvement in student achievement while closing the gaps among ethnic groups and high and low-income students.

The Broad (pronounced “brode”) Prize is considered the Nobel Prize of education and comes with a $1 million prize -- $500,000 in scholarships for the winning district and $125,000 in scholarships for the finalists. Graduating seniors in the Class of 2008 will be eligible for the scholarships.

The winning district will be announced Sept. 18 in Washington, D.C.

A team of six researchers and statisticians from The Broad Foundation and SchoolWorks, an educational consulting company in Massachusetts, spent four days in San Antonio meeting with Northside administrators, teachers, parents, and community members to gain a better understanding of why student test scores are improving.

As part of the site visit, the team also made visits to Marshall High School, Jones Middle School, and Cable, McDermott, and Raba elementary schools to see District practices in action.

Northside was selected as a finalist because students here outperformed other students in other Texas districts with similar demographics in reading and math at all grade levels, said Erica Lepping, associate director of marketing and communications for The Broad Foundation. In addition, Northside test scores showed the gap was narrowing for minority and low-income students.

“There’s some magic happening in this District,” Lepping said during a joint news conference with Northside. “That’s why we’re here.”

The Broad team also will visit the other finalists, which include: Bridgeport Public Schools in Connecticut, Long Beach Unified School District in California, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, and New York City public schools.

“It’s a tremendous honor to be selected as one of the top districts in the nation,” Northside Superintendent John Folks said. “I just feel so strongly about what we do in this District to try and put the focus on what takes place in the classroom.”

One of the primary reasons for the District’s improving test scores is the use of benchmark testing and disaggregation of test scores to hone in on which students are struggling and in what areas. Then, an individualized plan of action is put in place to ensure the student gets the focused instruction he or she needs.

In concert, the District has set high expectations for administrators, teachers, and students – regardless of their background, Folks said.

“Teachers have at their fingertips the ability to look at every single student and say, ‘we want this student to be successful no matter their ethnicity and no matter the income level of their family,’” Folks said.

After the site visits are completed, a jury of 14 prominent individuals representing business, education and public service will review the data and site visit reports and select the winning school district.

“We think the Broad Prize is so needed because folks work hard in urban districts everywhere and don’t get the recognition they deserve,” Lepping said.