Texas Border Business
RIO GRANDE VALLEY (May 18, 2016) – IDEA Public Schools learned today that they are one of three public charter school organizations in the country nominated for the prestigious 2016 Broad Prize for Public Charter Schools. The winner of the prize will receive $250,000 toward college-readiness efforts and be awarded to the public charter school network that demonstrates outstanding academic performance and success reducing the achievement gap between low-income students and their affluent counterparts. The winner will be announced at the National Charter Schools Conference in June.
Tom Torkelson, Founder and CEO of IDEA Public Schools, says, “To me, the Broad Prize for Public Charter schools is the equivalent to the Academy Awards for film or the Nobel Prize for literature. It is a huge honor to have been nominated for the last three years.”
In addition to IDEA, the Broad Foundation nominated Success Academy Charter Schools of New York and YES Prep Public Schools of Houston, both high-performing charter networks.
JoAnn Gama, President and Superintendent of IDEA Public Schools, echoed Torkelson’s enthusiasm. “We could not have earned this nomination year after year without the hard work of our teachers and staff, or without the example of peers like Success and YES. One of the best parts of public charter school work is the collegial, collaborative, and student-focused attitude of all the different networks. Everything we do counts toward getting our students to and through college, and this prize symbolizes how such dedication can pay off.”
IDEA Public Schools was nominated for its record of success preparing students in South and Central Texas for college. In 2014-15, all of IDEA schools were in the top 30 percent of Texas schools for advanced proficiency for low-income and Hispanic students in elementary, middle and high school English, math and science.
