Gwinnett School District Nabs Prestigious Award Again
The Gwinnett County school district has won a prestigious national award for the second time. But this year Gwinnett will share the prize with another district.
The Broad Prize usually recognizes one large urban school district that shows strong academic performance and improvement while also reducing the achievement gap.
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan surprised a New York crowd with this year’s announcement.
“And the 2014, this is the first time as a winner, I feel like Santa Clause,” Duncan said. “We have two winners: Orange County and Gwinnett County, please both come up.”
Gwinnett will split the $1 million award with the Orange County, Florida school system. The two districts were the only finalists this year. The Broad Foundation usually names four or five, but the foundation said it was disappointed in the overall progress of the 75 eligible districts this year.
Gwinnett County Superintendent Alvin Wilbanks was thrilled with the win.
“The prize represents the good work that’s going on in education and I think we are doing some good work, and the recognition of that will be great for our district, our community, more importantly for our students,” he said.
This was the first year Gwinnett was eligible for the prize since it won in 2010. The money will go toward college scholarships for students in need.
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