San Diego : Supt. Payzant Wins Education Prize

San Diego city schools Supt. Tom Payzant will receive $25,000 as one of three winners of the 1992 Harold W. McGraw Jr. Prize in Education, the board of judges for the award announced Wednesday.

Payzant was cited for his vision and innovation in pushing new programs to raise the achievement of African-American and Latino students, as well as efforts to give teachers more say in running their schools and to improve health care and related services for needy children.

The other two winners are Shirley A. Hill, a mathematics professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and Edward Zigler, a psychology professor at Yale University.

The McGraw prize is awarded annually to up to three people who have made a positive difference in the lives of students and which can be used as models for other educators. “This is really as much a tribute to the many people I work with who have made me look good,” said Payzant, adding that he plans to use the major portion of the prize to fund scholarships for future teachers and other education-related programs.