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The Long Beach Unified School District has earned a reputation as one of Americas finest school systems, winning many awards as a national model of excellence. The school district was named the 2003-04 national winner of the $500,000 Broad Prize for Urban Education, recognizing America's best urban school system for increasing student achievement. LBUSD was one of the top five finalists for the 2009 prize and became the first former winner to return to the competition as a finalist. No other district has been a finalist every year it has been eligible.
Established in 1885 with fewer than a dozen students meeting in a borrowed tent, LBUSD now educates 87,000 students in 93 public schools in the cities of Long Beach, Lakewood, Signal Hill, and Avalon on Catalina Island. The third largest school district in California, it serves the most diverse large city in the United States, with dozens of different languages spoken by local students. The district employs more than 8,000 people, making it the largest employer in Long Beach.
The school district has won widespread recognition for establishing high standards of dress, behavior and achievement. Its successes have been featured on Good Morning America, NBCs Today Show, CBSs This Morning, CNN Headline News and other national news media.
LBUSD was the first public school system in the U.S. to require uniforms in kindergarten through eighth grade; the first to require any third grader reading below grade level to attend mandatory summer school; and the first to end social promotion. LBUSDs reforms have paid off with record attendance and the lowest absenteeism in more than two decades, more students taking college preparatory courses, and safer schools. Local schools continue to meet or exceed state targets for academic growth, with many posting significant gains in student achievement.
Long before the strategy became common among U.S. schools, Long Beach developed clear expectations for what children should know and be able to do as a result of their schooling at each grade level. The district in the early 1990s looked to teachers, business leaders, university experts and parents to develop new, rigorous academic standards. Since then, attainment of those high standards has attracted the increased interest and involvement of civic leaders, community partners, parents and teachers.
Key to the district's success is its work with business people, volunteers, colleges and universities. The Long Beach Unified School District, California State University Long Beach and Long Beach City College have worked in collaboration with local, regional and national partners to create seamless, pre-kindergarten to postgraduate-school education. This partnership aligns academic standards, teaching methods and student assessment from preschool through masters and doctoral degree. LBUSD has also established educational partnerships with more than 1,100 local businesses, which recognize the districts role in developing a well-educated, highly skilled work force. Thousands of Volunteers in Public Schools (VIPS) assist teachers and students in classrooms. The district has received many national honors. In recent years, Long Beach schools have been visited and praised by the nation's president, attorney general, two secretaries of education and former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell. Local schools have won numerous California Distinguished and National Blue Ribbon awards.
These are the hallmarks of one of Americas finest school systems. A total commitment to continuous improvement is what makes the Long Beach Unified School District a national leader in preparing young men and women for success.
