Nevada’s Washoe County School District Honored with National Urban Education Excellence Award

Atlanta (October 6, 2012) - Nevada’s Washoe County School District is the 2012 winner of the National School Boards Association’s (NSBA) Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE) Annual Award for Urban School Board Excellence.

“Washoe County has made tremendous gains in increasing its graduation rate, increasing the achievement of low-income and minority students, and placing highly qualified teachers in its schools with the greatest needs,” said Joseph S. Villani, NSBA’s Interim Executive Director. “Working closely with its superintendent, the school board set high expectations for all students and staff and engaged its community as partners.”

Maryland’s Baltimore City Public Schools and Prince George's County Public Schools were also finalists for this year’s top honor. The winner was announced during a Saturday luncheon at the CUBE Annual Conference being held in Atlanta. 

Washoe County School District is a 63,000-student school system located in Reno, Nev. In 2009, school board members resolved to the community to improve the public schools, which were outperforming others in the state but had received negative reviews from residents. After an exhaustive process to solicit research, data analyses, and community input, the school board created a five-point reform initiative, “Envision WCSD 2015, Investing in Our Future,” that aimed to institute performance management systems; engage parents and the community; develop effective teachers and instructional leaders; instill a caring and positive school climate; and ensure all students leave ready for college and careers. 

As a result, graduation rates rose from 56 percent in 2008 to 70 percent in 2011; the achievement gap closed as third-grade math and reading scores for African-American and Hispanic students jumped double digits. District officials now use a variety of communications tools to market their schools and foster two-way communications with parents and community members. 

The CUBE Annual Award for Urban School Board Excellence began in 2004. This is the first time a Nevada school district has received the award. 

 Previous winners are:

• 2011 - Mesquite Independent School District 
• 2010 - Baltimore City Schools
• 2009 - Atlanta Public Schools
• 2008 - Brownsville Independent School District
• 2007 - Houston Independent School District and Miami-Dade County Public Schools
• 2006 - Norfolk Public Schools
• 2005 - School District of Hillsborough County 
• 2004 - Boston Public Schools

Washoe County School District was selected by an independent judging panel based on materials submitted by the school district, independent follow-up research, and information provided by the district's state school boards association. 

The judges selected the winner based on the following four criteria: Excellence in school board governance; building civic capacity; closing the achievement gap—equity in education; and demonstrated success of academic excellence. 

“Washoe County is an example of excellence for our state and for urban school districts across the country,” said Dotty Merrill, Executive Director of the Nevada Association of School Boards. “The school board, working with the superintendent, has done an exceptional job at developing a strategic plan with community involvement, and has focused on implementing that plan and continuously improving student achievement.”

CUBE represents a total of more than 100 urban school districts in 35 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The districts that comprise CUBE educate nearly 7.5 million students in over 12,000 schools, with a collective budget of approximately $99 billion. CUBE helps urban school boards find solutions to challenges at the local level and helps them to strengthen their policy making effectiveness. 

For more information on the award and CUBE, please visit www.nsba.org/cube.

Founded in 1940, the National School Boards Association (NSBA) is a not-for-profit organization representing state associations of school boards and their more than 90,000 local school board members throughout the U.S. Working with and through our state associations, NSBA advocates for equity and excellence in public education through school board leadership. www.nsba.org