NEWARK, NJ — In a surprise ceremony in front of her students, Jody-Anne Jones, principal of North Star Academy Clinton Hill Middle School of Newark, was honored Wednesday with the 2018 Ryan Award for exceptional school leadership, a national award that honors urban principals who are closing the achievement gap.

According to a statement from North Star Academy: "When students enter the Clinton Hill campus as fifth-graders, they lag behind students from more affluent districts on state exams. But by eighth grade, they close that gap and reverse it, outperforming those students by almost 30 percentage points in math and 15 percentage points in English-language arts, as they did in 2017." Pat Ryan Jr., founder of the Accelerate Institute, said Jones was selected for the Ryan Award because she helps her students compete with peers who don't face the challenges of poverty.

"Year after year, far too many children in the U.S. fall behind because they don't have access to a quality education," Ryan said. "Jody-Anne Jones refused to accept this and attacked the problem of the achievement gap with the urgency it deserves, making sure every student at Clinton Hill is given the opportunity to succeed. We created the Ryan Awards six years ago to amplify the story of leaders like Jody-Anne and to help other principals learn how to build schools with healthy foundations where the children—and the adults—are constantly learning and growing." Nora Ligurotis, CEO of the Accelerate Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the development of transformational urban school leaders, presented Cole with the award during an all-school assembly in front of her students and staff. The prestigious award includes a $25,000 honorarium and the opportunity for awardees to teach their successful methodologies at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

After earning a bachelor's degree in English and Africana Studies from Rutgers University and a master's in professional studies from Cornell University's Africana Studies and Research Center, Jones started as a teacher at North Star Academy in 2006. She served as an instructional leader and a dean of students and curriculum before being named principal of the Clinton Hill Middle School in August 2014. Under Jones' leadership, 72 percent of Clinton Hill Middle School students met or exceeded expectations on the 2017 PARCC exam in English-language arts, compared to 56 percent of students statewide and 68 percent for students who are non-economically disadvantaged. In math, 60 percent of Clinton Hill students met or exceeded expectations, compared to 45 percent statewide and 57 percent non-economically disadvantaged, school administrators said.

But perhaps the best measure of her tenure is how prepared her students are to compete once they leave the school, administrators added.

Michael Mann, a 2014 Ryan Award winner and head of school at North Star Academy Washington Park High School, said the Clinton Hill graduates come in to his high school with a high level of energy and focus. A Clinton Hill alum is valedictorian this year and was accepted at all 10 universities where she applied, including Harvard and MIT.

She's going to Yale University, he said. "Jody is very results-oriented," Mann said. "She conveys the sense of urgency and she doesn't wait for problems to solve themselves or get worse or float away. She tackles problems she sees head on."