Launched in 2011 by the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), the WISE Prize for Education is an international prize awarded to an individual or team for outstanding contributions to education. The prize raises the status of education, giving it a prestige similar to that of other fields of study and work for which there are international prizes, such as literature, peace and economics.
The winner is selected on the basis of criteria that assess the importance and lasting impact of his or her work at all levels of education. The selection is made by an international jury of education stakeholders and announced at the opening plenary session of the biennial summit, during which the winner receives a gold medal and $500,000.
The winners of the WISE Prize for Education are inspiring role models for all those concerned with building the future of education as the foundation of a safer, more prosperous and sustainable world.
The 2019 WISE Education Award was presented to Larry Rosenstock, founder of High Tech High, USA.
Mr. Larry Rosenstock, CEO and founding director of High Tech High, a network of American public charter schools, is the seventh recipient of the WISE Award for Education. He is recognized for his lifelong commitment to rethinking K-12 learning and tackling inequality through education. He pioneered the concept of project-based education. His model also reimagines the role of teachers as designers who adapt their programs and mix a variety of subjects to suit the specific needs of each student.
High Tech High (HTH), founded in 2000, is breaking down a number of barriers: barriers to access to quality education, the separation between academic and technical learning, and the isolation of schools from the community and the real world. Tackling inequality is at the heart of HTH's mission, with schools enrolling students by lottery based on their zip code. This approach has enabled students to reach their full potential, with 98 % of High Tech High students being admitted to university (compared with 69 % nationally). Find out more about HTH , click here.
