Alexandria, Va. – October 5 – The National School Boards Association’s Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE) named Norfolk Public Schools as the winner of its third annual award for Urban School Board Excellence.
"Our Board is honored to have been selected," said Norfolk's board chairman Barry C. Bishop. "This validates our focus and ability to work together to put our students first. It truly demonstrates that we are well on our way to becoming a world-class school system by the year 2010.
"This award is a testament to the hard work of our teachers, principals and staff,” he added. “They make our school system’s success possible.”
This was the third consecutive year that Norfolk was named a finalist for the award. The school district’s history of stability and commitment to closing the achievement gap were factors that greatly influenced the judges’ decision. The school board is extremely focused and has a shared vision for its students, staff, and community. The school board demonstrated its commitment to school board governance as it worked together and with the community during its superintendent search. Judges were further impressed by the school board’s continued evidence of excellence in the four core areas: board governance, closing the gap, academic achievement, and community engagement.
The winning district receives a $5,000 contribution to their student scholarship fund.
“Norfolk has used a steady and deliberate approach to reaching out to its community and to focus on what works best for its students,” said NSBA Executive Director Anne L. Bryant. “Over time, this strategy has paid off handsomely in terms of Norfolk’s high student performance and the strong support of its key stakeholders.”
The other two districts selected as finalists are Houston Independent School District in Texas and Miami-Dade County Public Schools in Florida. The winning district was announced and the award presented to school district officials at a ceremony held in conjunction with the CUBE Annual Conference in Phoenix, Ariz., on September 30, 2006. The CUBE Annual Award for Urban School Board Excellence is supported by McGraw-Hill Education.
The Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE) is the urban arm of the National School Boards Association. CUBE currently has 106 member districts, with an enrollment of more than eight million students. CUBE’s mission is to create opportunities for urban school board leaders to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to be effective policy makers and advocates for excellence and equity in public education.
Founded in 1940, the National School Boards Association is a not-for profit federation of state associations of school boards across the United States. Its mission is to foster excellence and equity in public elementary and secondary education in the United States through local school board leadership. NSBA represents the school board perspective before federal government agencies and with national organizations that affect education, and by providing vital information and services to state associations of school boards throughout the nation. McGraw-Hill Education is a leading global provider of electronic and print products for the pre-K through 12th grade, higher education and professional markets. It is a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, a global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor’s and Business Week. Founded in 1888, the corporation has more than 300 offices in 40 countries.
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