NYC wins Broad Prize for Urban Education

HUGE kudos to NYC for winning the prestigious Broad Prize for Urban Education!!!  It's a great and well-deserved honor.  I was in DC earlier today to see it in person.  There was an incredible turnout: a ton of Senators and Congresspeople, including Kennedy, Carper, Lautenberg, Pelosi, Miller, Shays, etc.  And everyone from NYC was there: Mayor Bloomberg, Chancellor Klein, Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott, Randi Weingarten, Ernest Logan, Chris Cerf, Meryl Tisch, etc.  Colin Powell was the lunch speaker -- he's awesome!  Below is the announcement.  I took lots of video, which I'll post and send links to shortly.

"If it can be done in New York City, it  can be done anywhere," said Eli Broad, founder of The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation. "The strong leadership by the mayor, the chancellor and a  progressive teachers union has allowed a school system the size of New York  City to dramatically improve student achievement in a relatively short period  of time. Other cities can look to New York as a model of successful urban  school district reform."

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The $1 Million Broad Prize for Urban Education Awarded to
New York City Department of Education, Four Finalist Districts

www.broadprize.org <http://www.broadprize.org>

WASHINGTON - The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) won the 2007 Broad Prize for Urban Education, the largest education prize in the country, The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation announced Sept. 18. New York City has been a finalist for The Broad Prize for the past two years.