Five urban school districts were named last week as finalists for an annual award recognizing systems posting the greatest improvement in student achievement.
The winner of the Broad Prize for Urban Education will receive $500,000 in college scholarships for graduating seniors. The finalists are the Boston public schools, which marks the fifth time the district has been a finalist; the New York City department of education, which was a finalist last year; the Bridgeport, Conn., schools; the Miami-Dade County, Fla., schools; and the Jersey City, N.J., district.
The finalists for the prize, given by the Los Angeles-based Broad Foundation, were selected from a pool of 100 districts after a review of data compiled by the National Center for Educational Accountability.
A 13-person selection jury will select the winner, which is to be announced on Sept. 20.