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Districts in Florida, Georgia split $1 million school prize

 
Published Sept. 23, 2014

ORLANDO

Georgia, Fla. school districts split award

In a first for the prestigious award, districts in Florida and Georgia will split the $1 million Broad Prize for Urban Education — the largest education award given to U.S. public schools.

On Monday, Gwinnett County Public Schools in metro Atlanta and Orange County Public Schools in Orlando each were promised $500,000 in college scholarships for their high school seniors.

The prize rewards school districts for improving disadvantaged students' achievement. Criteria include state test scores, graduation rates, performance compared with similar state districts, preparing students for college, and closing the achievement gaps between ethnic groups and low- and high-income students.

The two winners were picked from a pool of 75 eligible districts.

Orange County Public Schools was chosen because of its impressive improvement in recent years, the jury said. It has embarked on a major capital campaign, built smaller neighborhood schools and increased the number of magnet schools in the districts.

Associated Press