WASHINGTON, April 26, 2010—Beverly L. Hall, superintendent of the Atlanta Public Schools, will receive the 2010 Distinguished Public Service Award from the American Educational Research Association (AERA) at the Association's 91st Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado. This award recognizes exceptional contributions of elected or appointed public officials who have used education research and statistics in shaping policy, and who have provided sustained support for improving the quality of research and statistics.
At the AERA awards ceremony on Sunday, May 2, Thomas Corcoran, professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, and chair of the AERA Government Relations Committee, will present the award. Earlier in the day, Dr. Hall will deliver an invited address on Using Data Every Day, Every Way to Transform Atlanta Public Schools. Both the awards ceremony and the public service award address will take place in the Colorado Convention Center.
"Dr. Hall was selected for the Distinguished Public Service Award for her courage and leadership in enrolling the Atlanta Public Schools in the NAEP Trial Urban District Assessment," said Gerald E. Sroufe, Director of Government Relations at AERA. "This award also recognizes her inclusion of education data as a predominate feature of her strategies for promoting school reforms and increasing student achievement," he added.
Before becoming superintendent in Atlanta, Dr. Hall served as state district superintendent of the Newark Public Schools and as deputy chancellor for instruction of the New York City Public Schools. Among her honors, Dr. Hall was named in 2009 as National Superintendent of the Year by the American Association of School Administrators and State Superintendent of the Year by the Georgia School Superintendents Association.
Born in Jamaica, West Indies, Dr. Hall immigrated to the United States following her high school graduation and continued her post-secondary studies in New York. She received a Bachelor's Degree from Brooklyn College, a Master's from the City University of New York, and her doctorate in education from Fordham University.
Prior recipients of the AERA Distinguished Public Service Award are James B. Hunt, Jr., former governor of North Carolina and foundation chair of the James B. Hunt Institute, and Richard C. Atkinson, President Emeritus of the University of California system.
Editor's Note: To reach AERA Communications, call (202)238-3200; Helaine Patterson (hpatterson@aera.net) or Lucy Cunningham (lcunningham@aera.net). The press room in Denver is located at the Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th Street, Room 302, Street Level, and the telephone number there is (303) 228-8402.
The American Educational Research Association (AERA) is the national interdisciplinary research association for approximately 25,000 scholars who undertake research in education. Founded in 1916, AERA aims to advance knowledge about education, to encourage scholarly inquiry related to education, and to promote the use of research to improve education and serve the public good.