Girls Prep Bronx Elementary School Principal Josie Carbone received a surprise call from Arne Duncan Friday morning. The United States Secretary of Education praised Ms. Carbone for her steadfast leadership of the school, which serves 450 students in grades K-5 in the South Bronx. He commended Ms. Carbone for her dedication to the neighborhood, which she has served for nearly two decades. 
 
Secretary Duncan and his team selected Girls Prep Bronx as one of six schools across the nation to receive this positive outreach before students arrive for the new school year. 

 
Genuinely surprised and elated by the call, Ms. Carbone told Secretary Duncan, "We have been working really hard and moving the needle and really focusing on student achievement. We're serving girls in this community ... and we have a really great group of teachers focused on their development. It's been great." 
 
She also shared that the school's focus on data revealed strong math and science results compared to the averages in the school's district, which is one of the highest-poverty congressional districts in the country. The results demonstrate the school's commitment to increasing the amount of science and dedication to math available for girls. Nearly 90% of students at Girls Prep Bronx Elementary School passed the state science tests and 47% passed the math tests. Math pass rates in surrounding community school districts 7 and 8 were 14% and 21.6% respectively.
 
Ms. Carbone also communicated the tremendous demand for the school to Secretary Duncan, given the limited number of public single-sex schools available in the community. Girls Prep Bronx Elementary School received 1,450 applications for 72 seats in this year's public admissions lottery. The demand and the success of the school are a testament to Ms. Carbone's leadership and the need for additional Public Prep schools in the South Bronx.

Secretary Duncan told Ms. Carbone he is a "huge fan of single-sex schools," and encouraged her to apply for the Principal Ambassador Fellowship. The fellowship would allow Ms. Carbone to share her perspectives with other high-performing principals working in the field and contribute her knowledge and experience to the national dialogue about public education. 

To read coverage about the call in the New York Daily News, click here.

Watch a video of the full call below. 

For Press Inquiries and Photos, Contact:  
Stacey Coburn Williams, Managing Director of Development
Phone: 212-346-6000, ext. 104
swilliams@publicprep.org