The Council of the Great City Schools (CGCS) and Scholastic are pleased to announce that School board member Michael O’Neill of Boston Public Schools has been recognized as the 2023 Urban Educator of the Year at CGCS’s 67th Annual Fall Conference.
Also known as the Green-Garner Award, the honor is named after Richard R. Green, first African American chancellor of the New York City school system, and Edward Garner, a businessman and former school board president of the Denver Public Schools.
From the 78 largest urban public-school systems in the country, five school board members from big-city districts were recognized as finalists for the nation’s highest honor in urban education leadership, which recognizes an outstanding superintendent and school board member in alternating years.
For the past 15 years, O’Neill has been on the Boston School Committee, serving as chair from 2013-2017, and vice chair since 2020. Through his dedication as a leader, the district has annually achieved a balanced budget, while investing in important priorities like early childhood education and increased social-emotional support for students. O’Neill has also lent a hand in improving urban education at a national level, by developing a professional development program at Harvard Business School to accelerate the performance of urban school boards nationwide.
In addition to receiving the prestigious 2023 Green-Garner Award, O’Neill also receives a $10,000 college scholarship to be presented to a student of his choice in Boston Public Schools.
Congratulations Michael O’Neill!
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