Bridgeport a Broad salutatorian two years running

New York City beat out Bridgeport and three other cities for $500,000 in college scholarship money from the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation.

Bridgeport received $125,000 as a consolation prize, as did Miami-Dade County.; San Antonio; and Long Beach, Calif., which was the overall winner in 2003.

The Los Angeles-based Broad Foundation touts its Broad Prize for Urban Education as the largest educational prize in the country, rewarding city schools that demonstrate the best improvements in performance while reducing so-called achievement gaps among low-income and minority students. The money goes directly to high school seniors for college scholarships.

It marked the second straight year that both Bridgeport and Miami-Dade County reached the finals, losing out in 2006 to the city of Boston which had been a finalist each year since 2002 when the prize was first awarded. New York City was also a finalist in 2005 and 2006.