Race To the Top

What I Read:
http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/index.html

On November 18, 2009, the U.S. Department of Education and President Obama invited state applicants (Governor’s only) to apply for part of a $4 billion grant, with the applications due on January 19, 2010. This news sent many on a mad scramble for their slice of the pie, including state governors, school districts & programs, the American Library Association and  the Bureau of Indian Education Schools (the latter two were not invited to submit grant applications).

This “Race to the Top” grant is a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) Sect. 14005-6, Title XIV (public law 111-5). There will be 2 rounds of funding. The first deadline has already passed (January 19, 2010). The grants will be awarded to states who advance education reform by:

1. Adopting career-ready standards (The Common Core State Standards Initiative is the main one)
2. Building data assessment systems and using them
3. “Recruiting, developing, rewarding and retaining effective teachers and principals.” (ed.gov)
4. Reversing trends in lowest-achieving schools

ED.gov states that the states who will win these competitive grants are those who have “ambitious yet achievable plans for implementing coherent, compelling, and comprehensive education reform.”

Two states, Texas and Alaska have declined to submit applications for any of the grant money. Texas Governor Rick Perry is quoted in a NY Times article:

“We would be foolish and irresponsible,” Mr. Perry said, “to place our children’s future in the hands of unelected bureaucrats and special-interest groups thousands of miles away in Washington.”

Texas State Education Commissioner Robert Scott says, “Even if we won the full amount, it would only run our schools for two days, so for that we weren’t going to cede control over our curriculum standards.”

Texas stands to gain up to $700 million. Alaska stands to gain up to $75 million (grant amounts are dependent on state populations). It is unclear to me why Alaska is declining this money as I was unable to find any press releases or news statements on the issue. I have emailed Governor Parnell with my questions.

However, it is not to late for any state to still apply in the phase 2 portion of grant dollar releases. If a state failed to meet the phase 1 deadline or if a state’s application is turned down, that state may re-apply (or apply for the first time) by a June 1, 2010 deadline with winners announced in September. Current applicant winners will be announced in April 2010.

Articles/Opinions on Race to the Top Grant Money:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/14/education/14texas.html
http://educationalissues.suite101.com/article.cfm/race_to_the_top_grant_challenging
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/1428370.html
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2009/09/all_states_now_eligible_for_ga.html
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6687154.html?industryid=47062
http://www.jordannews.com/community/mathias-baden/race-top-needs-include-bureau-indian-education-schools

Teacher Resource:
Math sites and free resources
http://www.free.ed.gov/subjects.cfm?subject_id=33

NEXT: Web Site Review of mathforum.org