Aldine ISD wins national Broad Prize

By Mark Kramer

The fourth time was definitely a charm for Aldine ISD.

After being named a finalist for the past four years for the national Broad Prize for Urban Education, Aldine ISD now can fly its banner proudly as the “Best Urban School District” in the nation. In winning the Broad Prize, the district also received $1 million in college scholarships for Aldine ISD’s graduating seniors.

The Broad Prize for Urban Education is an annual award that honors the most outstanding urban school district in the United States that has made the greatest improvement in student achievement while reducing achievement gaps among ethnic groups and between high- and low-income students.

“Aldine has demonstrated that when an entire community and district work together with a singular focus on educating every child, they can succeed, even against the odds of poverty. Their success holds valuable lessons for other urban districts trying to do the same,” said philanthropist Eli Broad in presenting the award.

Aldine ISD, which serves an enrollment of 60,000, is the third Texas school district to win the national Broad prize since the program’s establishment in 2002 by the California-based Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation. Houston ISD and Brownsville ISD have both won the coveted award.

The Aldine Work Ethic

According to district statistics, 84 percent of Aldine ISD students are economically disadvantaged. Dr. Wanda Bamberg, Aldine ISD superintendent, says a “personalized” approach of educating all students is what has made the district successful. She likes to call it the “Aldine Work Ethic.”

“Our district is dedicated to a philosophy of service to our students,” she says. “Our teachers are extremely dedicated. They stay late and come in early to work with students. We do whatever it takes to help our students ― no matter how long it takes. We never give up, and we work until our students are successful.”

Bamberg says there are many programs that have led to Aldine ISD’s success. Schools offer small-group instruction and tutoring programs for students, along with extended day, extended week and extended-year learning opportunities.

Narrowing the gap

The Broad committee stated that it was evident Aldine ISD’s individualized approach toward teaching and district programs has made a difference. What caught the attention of the selection committee, in particular, was that Hispanic and low-income students in Aldine ISD outperformed their peers statewide in reading and math at all grade levels in 2008. African-American students scored higher than their counterparts in math at all levels, but fell behind in reading in elementary school.

According to Superintendent Bamberg, her district also narrowed the gaps between its African-American students and the state average for white students between 2005 and 2008. For example, during this time, the gap between these groups narrowed by 14 percentage points in middle school math.

Aldine ISD also has been praised by other organizations for its work with minority and lower-income students. Aldine ISD has been named the second-best large school district in Texas for educating African-American students, and it is ranked third among large school districts in Texas in educating Latino students, according to studies conducted by Texas A&M University, Texas A&M University at Prairie View and Beloit College.

Leadership and curriculum

The leadership in Aldine ISD schools plays a key factor in making sure that teachers are providing innovative instruction that keeps students engaged in learning.

“Principals are truly instructional leaders,” Bamberg says. “They support their teachers through training, observation and feedback. They build a campus team to support their teachers through the grade levels and departments.”

Bamberg says keeping the curriculum aligned from elementary to secondary is vital toward student learning.

“It’s the framework that allows for the proper transition from grade level to grade level,” she says. “They use the data from the student assessments to identify strengths and weaknesses to make instructional decisions and individual plans for each student.”

To that end, Broad officials commended Aldine ISD for demonstrated strong district-wide policies and practices.

“The district’s comprehensive curricular and instructional system sets clear, rigorous expectations for teachers and principals and provides easy access to instructional resources and student performance information,” the awards committee wrote in its assessment. “In addition, Aldine ISD regularly monitors progress toward goals, ensures that staff and resources are focused on district-wide priorities, gives principals budget autonomy yet holds them accountable and aggressively recruits high-quality teachers.”

Eyes on a different prize: Graduation and college

While Aldine ISD administrators and teachers will tell anyone that winning the Broad Prize is a great honor, they agree that the most rewarding gift of all is watching their graduates succeed in college.

Seeds for success in high education are being planted in elementary school and middle school, where “College Days” are hosted on campus. Aldine ISD schools also participate in the Texas Scholars program.

“It’s never too early to begin the conversations about college,” Bamberg says.

According to Aldine ISD records, the amount of scholarships offered to students between 2007 and 2009 increased from $9 million to $14 million.

Further motivation

Bamberg admits the Broad Prize has made district faculty and staff even more motivated in finding new ways to help students succeed.

“We see it as an opportunity to do even more and produce even better results,” she says. “This award endorses the long hours and hard work many have put in to educating our children. Our vision is to see continued academic gains among all of our students. That is our top priority.”

MARK KRAMER is a contributing writer for Texas School Business.