Garden Grove Schools Up for Broad Prize

For the third year in a row, the Garden Grove Unified School District is one of five finalists for the prestigious Broad Prize for Urban Education.

The prize, endowed by Los Angeles philanthropist Eli Broad’s foundation, is the country’s largest for public education. The winning district receives $500,000 for postsecondary scholarships. The four other finalists receive $125,000.

Only about 100 urban school districts nationwide qualify for the prize, which requires districts to serve at least 35,000 children, many of whom must be English learners and eligible for reduced-priced meals.

Garden Grove, a runner-up the last two years, has 50,172 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. More than 60% qualify for free or reduced-priced meals at school; more than half are English-learners.

The finalists -- which include Boston Public and districts in Virginia, Texas and North Carolina -- were chosen for improvement in student achievement and closing performance gaps between ethnic and income groups. The review board looked at several factors, including test scores and dropout rates.

The winner will probably be chosen in September.