Congratulations to Eva Dong, besides being a Governing Board member for Sunnyside School District, she also provides oversight for the Juvenile CAPE Program at the Juvenile Courts Center and the Sheriff’s Dept. Corrections Bureau’s Juvenile unit.
Arizona School Board Leader Wins National Urban Education Award
Eva Carrillo Dong, Sunnyside Unified School District Governing Board member, receives the 2011 Benjamin Elijah Mays Lifetime Achievement Award
Alexandria, Va. (October 10, 2011) – Arizona school board member Eva Carillo Dong has been honored with the 2011 Benjamin Elijah Mays Lifetime Achievement Award from the National School Boards Association’s (NSBA) Council of Urban Boards of Education .Dong, who has been a member of the Sunnyside Unified School District Governing Board since 1999, received the award Saturday afternoon at the 2011 CUBE Annual Conference in New Orleans. She was honored for her long-time dedication to the community and her strong belief that education can improve life for children in Sunnyside Unified, which serves more than 17,000 students.
President of the Sunnyside board three times in her 12 years of service, Dong has helped the district gain state and national attention for its innovative programs and initiatives to increase student achievement, reduce the dropout rate, and increase community engagement.
“The Benjamin Elijah Mays Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes Eva Carrillo Dong’s strong commitment to advancing education opportunities in her community as a key to community transformation,” said Sandra Jensen, CUBE Chair. “She is a dedicated school board leader and an outstanding advocate for the Sunnyside Unified School District, her community, and all our nation's children.”
The Benjamin Elijah Mays Lifetime Achievement Award is given to individuals who demonstrate a long-standing commitment to the educational needs of urban schoolchildren through school board service. Benjamin Elijah Mays, whom the award honors, was a teacher, minister, author, and civil rights activist who served as president of Morehouse College and the Atlanta school board from 1970 to 1981.
This is Dong’s second NSBA individual honor this year. In April, NSBA’s National Hispanic Caucus of School Board Members presented Dong with the Abrazo Award for her outstanding leadership, dedication, and commitment to providing opportunities for Hispanic students. She also was honored for her work to close the achievement gap for all students, in particular Hispanic students.
Additionally, Dong has led the Board's involvement in the development of Project Graduation, a program launched in 2007 that has successfully increased the high school graduation rate. The program received a Magna Award from NSBA’s American School Board Journal in 2011. Magna recognizes outstanding programs that advance student learning and encourage community involvement in schools
Sunnyside Unified covers 93.6 square miles in the southern part of the City of Tucson and areas adjacent in Pima County and serves more than 17,000 students. More than 94 percent of students identify as a minority with approximately 86 percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals. About one-third of students are classified as English language learners (ELL) and approximately 14 percent of the district’s student population receives Special Education services.
CUBE was established in 1967 by NSBA as a national membership organization governed solely by urban school board members and dedicated to the needs and interests of urban school boards. CUBE member districts total more than 110 urban school districts in 35 states and the Virgin Islands. Our member districts educate nearly 8 million students, in more than 12,000 schools, with a collective budget of approximately $99 billion. CUBE helps urban school boards find solutions to challenges at the local level and seeks to improve their policy making effectiveness.
For more information about and CUBE and the Benjamin Elijah Mays Lifetime Achievement Award, please visit www.nsba.org/cube.
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Founded in 1940, the National School Boards Association (NSBA) is a not-for-profit organization representing state associations of school boards and their more than 90,000 local school board members throughout the U.S. Working with and through our state associations, NSBA advocates for equity and excellence in public education through school board leadership. www.nsba.org
