The Los Angeles-based Broad Foundation has announced $1 million in college scholarships to 132 graduating high school seniors who attend some of the most improved urban school districts in the country.

The scholarships were awarded to students who attend school districts that were finalists for the 2004 Broad Prize for Urban Education, awarded each year to urban school districts that demonstrate the greatest overall improvement in student achievement, while at the same time reducing the performance gaps among ethnic groups and between high- and low-income students. The 2004 winner of the prize, the Garden Grove Unified School District in California, will receive $500,000 in scholarships. The other finalists, which each will receive $125,000 in scholarships, were the Aldine Independent School District near Houston, Boston Public Schools, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in North Carolina, and Norfolk Public Schools in Virginia.

"We are proud to recognize these students for their improvement and achievement during high school," said Broad Foundation founder Eli Broad. "The Broad Prize is designed to reward school districts that are raising the bar for all students. Going to college or trade school should be a goal of every child in this country. These students have worked hard to achieve academic success and have overcome many obstacles. We hope that these scholarships will help make it possible for them to go to college."