The Council of the Great City Colleges of Education, an affiliate group of deans working with urban school leaders, presents the Dr. Shirley S. Schwartz Urban Education Impact  Award each year at the Council's Fall Conferences. The award is named in honor of Dr. Shirley S. Schwartz, the Council's Director of Special Projects and staff liaison with the colleges of education. The award honors an outstanding partnership between a university and an urban school district that has had a positive and significant impact on student learning. 

The 2024 award was presented to the Houston Independent School District and Rice University – Kinder Institute for Urban Research (HERC), a research-practice partnership between the Kinder Institute and 10 Houston-area school districts to guide data-driven, equity-minded policy. HERC uses a jointly developed research agenda that involves both researchers and school district leaders working together on critical issues to improve educational equity.