Delaware State

Federal Education Grants Goal For Race To The Top Finalists

Race to the Top is a contest for more than $ 3 billion in federal education reform grants. Within the second round of the contest, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced Wednesday that 18 states and Washington D.C. as finalists. Cooperation was the secret of success for final contestants such as California. Losers like Nevada had politicians blaming each other and using the occasion to blast big government. Article source – Race to the Top finalists compete for federal education grants by Newystype.com.

Race to the Top finalists eligible for billions

The first round of Race to the Top ended in March, with Delaware ($ 100 million) and Tennessee ($ 300 million) as the winners. In the second phase, the Department of Education will hand out $ 3.4 billion for education reform. Second round final contestants include are Arizona, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and South Carolina. In August each state will send representatives to compete within the interview phase of the competition. Race to the top winners can be announced in September.

A “quiet revolution” in education reform

Duncan called the program part of “a quiet revolution” in education reform in a speech to the National Press Club in Washington, where he announced the Race to the Top finalists. The biggest achievement of the program, supporters say, is that Race to the Top allows states to start dealing with controversial reforms before allocating scarce funding for them. Since Race to the Top was announced, the Department of Education Reform said 23 states have passed education reform laws around things like charter schools and teacher evaluations to improve their chances of winning.

Cooperation puts California within the finals

Race to the Top finalist California made the cut after placing 27th out of 40 in the first round. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that across the state, 300 local school districts and county offices of education signed on to the Race to the Top application, agreeing to implement the reforms it outlined. California’s application, which highlighted what districts are already doing to turn around struggling schools, evaluate and support teachers and principals, and measure student performance, was written by superintendents from seven school districts.

Politicians blame each other for Nevada’s failure

A consultant was paid $ 40,000 to write Nevada’s failing Race to the Top application. Fox News Las Vegas reported that an orgy of finger-pointing ensued upon Nevada’s failure to reach the finals. Republican Governor Jim Gibbons was accused of a “lack of leadership” by Democratic Senator Harry Reid. Gibbons fired back, accusing Reid of never “lifting a finger” to help Nevada succeed. Right wing senate hopeful Sharon Angle also piled on Reid, perhaps though she campaigns for less federal involvement in schools and has proposed abolishing the Department of Education .

Additional reading

press.org

sfgate.com

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