NEW YORK, July 31, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The McGraw Hill Financial Research Foundation today announced the winners of the 2014 Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education. Each will be presented with a $50,000 award during a ceremony at the New York Public Library on September 23. Now in its 27^th year, the Prize honors innovators in education and focuses this year on those who have found ways to narrow a particular achievement gap in a broadly replicable manner. This year's winners are:

• Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills and Special Advisor on Education Policy to the Secretary-General at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), has been named the winner of the Global Leadership Prize. Schleicher has been responsible for the design implementation and analysis of OECD's comparative assessments of the performance of education systems, including the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which provides the definitive source of data on how 15-year-old students in 70 member countries apply their academic knowledge to real-life situations. PISA has become the benchmark for how academic progress is measured throughout the world.
• Chris Lehmann, Founding Principal, Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia, has won the Rising Star Prize. In 2006, Lehmann launched the Science Leadership Academy (SLA) as a public magnet high school in partnership with The Franklin Institute science museum. The school tackles the achievement gap in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects for highly qualified minority students. The school emphasizes college preparation and entrepreneurship through a technology-rich, inquiry-driven curriculum that is enhanced by a 1:1 laptop program. Considered a national ed-tech thought leader, Lehmann spearheaded the drive to expand the SLA model to a second Philadelphia high school last year. He recently co-founded the non-profit Inquiry Schools with the mission of expanding the inquiry-driven approach to more schools.
• Sara Martinez Tucker, CEO, National Math + Science Initiative (NMSI), is the winner of the 2014 National Leadership Prize. As the leader of the Dallas-based non-profit, Tucker seeks to improve teacher effectiveness and student performance in the critical subjects of science, math, technology and engineering, particularly among minority students and women. She has served as Under Secretary of Education under President George W. Bush, as well as head of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, where she fought to raise academic expectations among Latino families and communities to increase the rate of Hispanics earning college degrees.

The 2014 winners represent the best innovative research and tactics being used worldwide to identify and narrow achievement gaps across the educational spectrum. Honorees are chosen by a distinguished independent board of judges from the education community.

"McGraw Hill Financial is proud to sponsor the Foundation and its activities, especially the Prize in Education. Closing student achievement gaps is vital to ensuring future generations have the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed," said Harold (Terry) McGraw III, Chairman of the Board of McGraw Hill Financial. "Despite being confronted with unique gaps between students of different nations, genders and cultures, all three of the winners have brought innovative thinking and scalable solutions that are helping to reshape the educational landscape."

"We are very proud of this year's exceptional winners," said Ted Smyth, Vice President, McGraw Hill Financial Research Foundation.  "We congratulate each on the significant contributions they have made in helping close achievement gaps."

Additional information, including photos and more details about the 2014 winners, can be found here: www.mhfirf.org. Follow updates on the Prize on Twitter at @McGrawPrize (www.twitter.com/mcgrawprize).

About the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education:

The annual Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education, sponsored by the McGraw Hill Financial Research Foundation, recognizes outstanding individuals who have dedicated themselves to education innovation. It was established in 1988 to honor the late Harold W. McGraw, Jr.'s lifelong commitment to education, and to mark the Company's 100^th anniversary. Since 1988 the Prize in Education has recognized 82 of some of the nation's most prominent and pronounced educational leaders. Visit www.mhfirf.org to learn more and see a complete list of winners.

About The McGraw Hill Financial Research Foundation:

The McGraw Hill Financial Research Foundation's mission is to support organizations, projects and activities that are advancing global education and knowledge in the 21^st Century. To further this commitment, the Foundation educates, informs and raises awareness about: new methodologies to improve student and teacher performance; the use of technology and innovation to empower life-long learning; education for jobs; the need to improve financial literacy; and emerging societal issues and trends impacting the global community.

Emily Fredrix Goodman
McGraw Hill Financial
(212) 512-2825  
emily.fredrix@mhfi.com  

SOURCE The McGraw Hill Financial Research Foundation