Broad Institute Trains 29 New School Board Members on Leadership Strategies to Improve Student Achievement.

LOS ANGELES -- The Broad Institute for School Boards announced today that it has trained 29 new school board members from 11 urban school districts across the country on how to improve school board governance in order to achieve dramatic increases in academic performance for all children. The six-day training program was held in Park City, Utah, from June 10 through June 15.

School board members from the following school districts attended this year's Broad Institute:

--Atlanta Public Schools

--Cincinnati Public Schools

--Cleveland Municipal School District

--Dallas Independent School District

--Durham Public Schools in North Carolina 

--Fort Worth Independent School District in Texas

--Guilford County Public Schools in North Carolina

--Memphis City Schools

--Norfolk Public Schools in Virginia

--Pittsburgh Public Schools

--Providence Public Schools in Rhode Island 

The Broad Foundation, a Los Angeles-based education venture philanthropy, covered all expenses, including travel, training, lodging and meals. The Broad Foundation partners with the Houston-based Center for Reform of School Systems to run the Institute.

"School board members who are keenly focused on how to improve student achievement, rather than on distracting issues like school paint color and bus schedules, can make decisions that truly allow students to succeed," said Eli Broad, founder of The Broad Foundation. "Too many school board members across the country do not know how to prioritize issues or ask the right questions to have an impact on learning. The Broad Institute is designed to give them a 'crash course' in how to demand - and achieve - better student performance."

During the session, school board members completed intensive work that included analyzing case studies on local reform efforts to improve education in: Buffalo, N.Y., Houston, New Orleans, Oakland, Calif., Philadelphia, San Diego and St. Louis. Additionally, they learned about policy development, civic involvement, district accountability, and how to ensure their board and district are designed to achieve dramatic increases in achievement for all children.

The Broad Institute's faculty includes the following prominent national education leaders:

--Rod Paige, former U.S. Secretary of Education

--Arlene Ackerman, former superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District 

--Kati Haycock, director of The Education Trust in Washington, D.C.

--Caprice Young, president and CEO of the California Charter Schools Association

--Jim Nevels, chairman of the School Reform Commission in Philadelphia

--Don McAdams, president of the Center for Reform of School Systems in Texas

"These school board members now have the tools and networks they need to challenge the status quo," McAdams said. "With this intensive training on successful efforts in other cities, these leaders are better prepared to improve education in their districts and close ethnic and income achievement gaps."

Since 2002, The Broad Institute has trained 120 school board members from 32 school districts, representing 2.8 million school children. Participation in the training is by invitation.

The Broad Institute is a program of The Broad Foundation, a Los Angeles-based venture philanthropic organization established in 1999 by Eli and Edythe Broad. The Foundation's mission is to dramatically improve student achievement in urban public schools through better governance, management, labor relations and competition. The Broad Foundation's Internet address is www.broadfoundation.org.