Lawrence Lezotte Named 2009 Winner
of Brock International Prize in Education

Jury members convening on the campus of the University of Oklahoma in Norman selected Lawrence W. Lezotte, Ph.D., as this year’s recipient of the Brock International Prize in Education. The award is given annually to recognize an individual for innovative and effective ideas in education resulting in a significant impact on the practice or understanding of the field of education.

Lezotte has devoted his career to helping schools educate all students. He is the chief executive officer and national education consultant for Effective Schools Products, Ltd. Lezotte is known as the preeminent spokesperson for continuous school improvement based on effective schools research.

“The Brock Prize is one of the largest and most important prizes in education in the world,” said Trent Gabert, Ph.D., chair of the Brock Prize executive committee and associate dean of the OU College of Liberal Studies. “Its recipients have made significant contributions to the field of education, and we are honored to recognize and share the ideas produced by such outstanding achievements.”

In July 1966, the J.S. Coleman report was published, concluding that family background, not the school, was the major determinant of student achievement. Not all educators agreed with the Coleman findings, Lezotte among them. Lezotte was inspired to find those schools that were successful in educating all students regardless of race, gender or socioeconomic background. As a consultant, Lezotte touches the lives of thousands of educators and tens of thousands of students each year through workshops and conferences around the country, making the connection between federal and state mandates for school reform and the new mission of “learning for all.” Lezotte’s training programs not only inspire schools and districts to adopt the “learning for all” mission, but give them the information and tools they need to plan and implement continuous school improvement and raise student achievement. In recognition of his efforts, Lezotte received the 2003 Council of Chief State School Officers’ Distinguished Service Award presented each year to outstanding Americans who have made a difference in education.

“Lezotte’s research on effective schools proves that we can do things much better than we used to,” said Sue Cleveland, Ed.D., superintendent for the Rio Rancho Public School District in New Mexico and member of the Brock Prize jury who nominated Lezotte. “He has helped educators at all levels to think differently about school reform and he has changed the entire landscape of what we mean by continuous school improvement.”

Lezotte earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Western Michigan University and a doctorate degree from Michigan State University.

He was selected as laureate by a nine-member jury, which is comprised of public school officials, university officers, meritorious professors and government officials, all of whom are committed to excellence in education. Each member of the jury nominates one potential laureate. Then the jury meets on the OU campus to discuss the merits of each nominee and select the laureate for the following year.

The Brock Laureate receives a $40,000 cash award, certificate and bust of Sequoyah during the Brock Symposium for Excellence in Education, where the laureate serves as the keynote speaker. This year’s event will be held April 16, 2009, at the University of Tulsa. The symposium, hosted by Oklahoma State University, the University of Oklahoma and the University of Tulsa, seeks to shine a light on notable accomplishments in the field of education and then to use those accomplishments as a springboard for communicating educational excellence to practitioners, parents, researchers, administrators and political leaders.

The Brock International Prize in Education is made possible from a gift by John A. Brock and family of Tulsa, Okla., and is administered by Oklahoma State University, the University of Oklahoma and the University of Tulsa.