Race To The Top Finalists Compete For Federal Education Grants
Billions of dollars in federal education reform grants are up for grabs in the Race to the Top. Within the second round of the contest, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan declared Wednesday that 18 states and Washington D.C. as finalists. Cooperation was the secret of success for final contestants for instance California. In Nevada, which didn’t make the cut, politicians pointed fingers and called the program large government.
Race to the Top finalists eligible for billions
Delaware and Tennessee received $ 100 million and $ 300 million respectively for winning the first round of Race to the Top in March. The Department of Education will hand out $ 3.4 billion within the form of education reform grants at the end of the second phase. 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 advance in the second round. They will compete in August in the interview portion of the competition. In September winners can be announced.
A “quiet revolution” in education reform
In a speech to the National Press Club in Washington, Duncan called the program “part of a quiet revolution” in education reform when 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. 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 funds since Race to the Top was announced.
California advances via cooperation
Race to the Top finalist California made the cut after placing 27th out of 40 in the first round. The San Francisco Chronicle said that the reforms outlined in California’s Race to the Top application were endorsed by 300 school districts and county offices across the state. 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.
Failure sparks blame game in Nevada
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 said Reid never “lifted a finger” to help the state compete. Quite possibly though she wants less federal involvement in schools and has called for eliminating the Department of Education, right wing candidate for Senator Sharon Angle piled on Reid after Nevada was left out in the cold .
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