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Nine Finalists Named for Top Award in Urban Education Leadership

  • Nine school board members will be announced on Oct. 21 as finalists for the nation’s top award in urban-education leadership, the Green-Garner Award. And one of them will be recognized as Urban School Board Member of the Year.

    The winner will be honored at a live ceremony during the Council of the Great City Schools’ virtual 65th Annual Fall Conference, Oct. 19-23.

    The Green-Garner Award is sponsored by the Council and Scholastic, the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books. The award program is now in its 32nd year and alternates between honoring an urban school board member one year and an urban superintendent the next year.  

    The 2021 finalists are:

    • Marcia Andrews, Member, School District of Palm Beach County Board of Education;
    • Ethan Ashley, President, Orleans Parish School Board;
    • Lola Brooks, Trustee, Clark County School District School Board;
    • Miska Clay Bibbs, School Board Chair, Shelby County Board of Education;
    • Deena Hayes, Chair, Guilford County Board of Education;
    • Robert Heard Sr., Vice Chair, Cleveland Metropolitan School District Board of Education;
    • Michael O'Neill, Vice Chair, Boston School Committee;
    • Angelique Peterson-Mayberry, President, Detroit Public Schools Community District Board of Education; and
    • Marta Perez, Member, School Board of Miami-Dade County

    The award is named for Richard Green, who held posts as chancellor of the New York City Public Schools and superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools and was a mentor to fellow urban superintendents nationwide, and Edward Garner, a notable businessman and board president of Denver Public Schools who helped establish and fund the award. 

    The winner of the Green-Garner Award will receive a $10,000 college scholarship to present to a graduating senior from their school system.

    Last year’s winner was Dallas Schools Superintendent Michael Hinojosa.