New York City’s public school system, the largest in the country, yesterday won the Broad Prize, given each year to an urban school district that has made great improvements in student achievement, particularly in closing gaps between white and minority students.
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who took control of the schools in 2002 and has made education a cornerstone of his time in office, accepted the award yesterday in Washington along with Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein.
The two were flanked by high-ranking officials from both parties, including Education Secretary Margaret Spellings and the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California. The prize is awarded each year by Eli Broad, a Los Angeles philanthropist and head of the Broad Foundation, which works to improve large school districts nationwide.
“I guess three times is the charm,” said Mayor Bloomberg, who had been striving for this prize since its inception in 2002. The city was a finalist the past two years.
After the ceremony, Mr. Klein said many cities saw New York as a model. “For so long in American education it has been stuck and stymied,” he said. “Under the mayor’s efforts, we’ve changed that.”
Although the prize will give the city a boost of attention, it is not quieting critics of the mayor and Mr. Klein. Before the award was announced, dozens of parents signed a letter to the foundation asking it not to give the prize to New York. The letter said that the administration was “scornful” about parents’ concerns.
Since 2000, the Broad Foundation has given nearly $15 million to the city’s schools to finance principal training programs, systems to track student data and other projects. It also gave the teachers’ union $1 million to start a charter school in Brooklyn.
Foundation officials noted that it did not pick the winner, relying instead on a panel of experts, including two former secretaries of education, Rod Paige and Richard W. Riley.
In choosing New York for the $500,000 prize, the panel noted that the city outperformed other large urban districts in the state on math and reading tests and showed greater improvement at all grade levels. Low-income, black and Latino students also showed more improvement than their peers in other cities in the state, the foundation said.
“The strong leadership by the mayor, the chancellor and a progressive teachers’ union has allowed a school system the size of New York City to dramatically improve student achievement in a relatively short period of time,” Mr. Broad said in a statement.
In a show of unity, the mayor and chancellor traveled with a large delegation, including Randi Weingarten, the president of the city teachers’ union, and Ernest A. Logan, the president of the principals’ union, who are often at odds with the mayor.
Representative George Miller, the California Democrat who leads the House education committee, praised the city for making changes in the schools quickly and being willing to “break a little china to get ahead.”
But back in New York City, David M. Quintana, a Queens parent who was consulted by officials judging the system, said he was “disappointed” that the city had received the award.
“They were asking how our voices were heard,” Mr. Quintana said, “and across the board we told them that the city didn’t listen to our views.”
And Betsy Gotbaum, the city’s public advocate, who has been a vocal critic of Mr. Klein, said the award ignored many problems. “If we are No. 1 in terms of achievement, it’s pretty sad news for the rest of the nation,” Ms. Gotbaum said in a statement.
Other finalists this year were Miami; Long Beach, Calif.; Bridgeport, Conn.; and San Antonio.
