ALEXANDRIA, Va., – Sept. 21 – The National School Boards Association’s Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE) has announced the finalists for its annual award for Urban School Board Excellence.
The Fort Worth Independent School District in Texas, the Houston Independent School District in Texas, and Miami-Dade County Public Schools in Fla. have been named as finalists for this prestigious annual award which recognizes big city school districts that are making progress in educating children, and acting as a role model for other urban districts.
"The leadership established by these outstanding districts highlights the critical connection between urban student academic achievement and successful school board governance," said Steve Corona, CUBE chair and the school board president of the Fort Wayne Community Schools, in Fort Wayne, Ind.
The winning district will be announced at an award ceremony on September 29, 2007, during the CUBE annual conference in Atlanta, Ga.
"One of the key features of being a CUBE member district is the ability to learn from each others’ best practices," NSBA executive director Anne L. Bryant. "All of our school districts can learn a great deal from these three finalists and we are proud to recognize them for their work."
Nominees are required to present evidence that demonstrates school district excellence in four core areas: school board governance, closing the gap, academic excellence, and community engagement. The finalists are then selected by a panel of distinguished judges based on materials submitted by the school district, and independent follow-up research.
Previous winners of the CUBE Award for Urban School Board Excellence are Boston Public Schools in Mass., Hillsborough County Public Schools in Fla., and Norfolk Public Schools in Va. For more information on the award, please visit the CUBE website at www.nsba.org/cube .
For four decades, the CUBE has been in the forefront in helping urban school districts strive for excellence. Established in 1967 by the National School Boards Association’s Board of Directors, CUBE is the only national membership organization governed solely by urban school board members and dedicated to the needs and interests of urban school boards. 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. CUBE member districts total 113 districts, covering 36 states, including nine of the largest school districts in the United States. These urban educators govern and educate nearly eight million students in more than 12,000 schools with a collective budget of near $80 billion.
Founded in 1940, the National School Boards Association is a not-for profit federation of state associations of school boards representing 95,000 local school board members throughout the United States. Its mission is to foster excellence and equity in public elementary and secondary education through local school board leadership. NSBA represents the school board perspective in working with federal government agencies and national organizations that impact education, and provides vital information and services to state associations of school boards throughout the nation.