New York City has been awarded the largest education prize in the country, the Broad Prize for Urban Education, which will grant the city’s Department of Education $500,000 in college scholarships.

This year’s prize, awarded last Tuesday, was announced amidst controversy over the city Department of Education’s restructuring of the public school system. According to the Broad Foundation, New York City won the coveted prize as a result of improved test scores, greater performance among low-income, African American and Hispanic students, and smaller achievement gaps between minorities and whites.

“I thank the Broad Foundation and congratulate the people whose hard work made this happen—the principals, teachers, students, and parents in our 1,400-plus public schools,” said New York City Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein at the press conference in
Washington, D.C. on September 18.

But despite these accolades, many local parents and activists believe that the DOE is undeserving of such a prize because of numerous flaws in the system they say are not being adequately addressed.

City Councilman and Chair of the Education Committee Robert Jackson, D-West Harlem and Washington Heights, highlighted statistics that reflect poorly on the DOE.

According to figures obtained by Jackson, the city has reported a high school graduation rate of 61 percent, whereas New York State reported the city’s graduation rate as roughly 50 percent. Less than 30 percent of the city’s special education students graduate high school, compared to a New York State average of 47 percent.

In a letter sent to Eli Broad and the Broad Foundation, local activist Leonie Haimson of the organization Class Size Matters asked the foundation not to award the prize to New York City because of its failure to implement the changes that city parents demand. A 2006 report by the New York State Comptroller’s office found that “The DOE can better allocate program funding in relation to school enrollment and capacity.” The report stated that despite annual program funding of $88 million, the DOE has been unable to bring average class sizes to acceptable levels. Currently, about a fifth of elementary school buildings are underused while another fifth are significantly overpopulated.

Haimson said the city has been ineffective in communicating with parents, arguing that more collaboration between parents and teachers is imperative to ensure the success of the city’s students. “If New York City wins the Broad Prize, it will be validating a whole approach to education that follows a corporate model,” she said.

Harriet Barnes, president of the Community Education Council for Harlem’s District 5, said she understood Haimson’s strong feelings regarding the award, but she believed that the city deserved to win, since the prize money would go to college scholarships.

“Let them get that money,” Barnes said.

Jackson also was pleased that the money will go to the city’s youth. “I am happy any time that progress as been made, and we need as many accolades as possible, but we still have a long way to go,” the councilman said.

The reporters can be reached at news@columbiaspectator.com