U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced today that Delaware and Tennessee have won grants in the first phase of the Race to the Top competition.
“We received many strong proposals from states all across America, but two applications stood out above all others: Delaware and Tennessee,” Duncan said in announcing the winners. “Both states have statewide buy-in for comprehensive plans to reform their schools. They have written new laws to support their policies. And they have demonstrated the courage, capacity, and commitment to turn their ideas into practices that can improve outcomes for students.”
Delaware will receive approximately $100 million and Tennessee $500 million to implement their comprehensive school reform plans over the next four years. As with any federal grant program, budgets will be finalized after discussions between the grantees and the Department, and the money will be distributed over time as the grantees meet established benchmarks.
In response to Duncan's annoucnement, Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday said,
Although I’m disappointed that Kentucky’s application was not selected for funding in the first round of the Race to the Top allocations, our work to improve the state’s P-12 system of education will continue. We’ll begin reviewing the scores and comments on our application and planning for the second round immediately. This does not mean that the work outlined in Kentucky’s plan will not be done – it just means that we’ll have to work harder to ensure that every funding source is tapped. Kentucky’s Race to the Top plan is more than just an application for federal funding. It is the roadmap for the state’s next move forward in public education, and we will not abandon that.
Governor Steve Beshear added,
“While we are disappointed that Kentucky did not win an award in the first phase of Race to the Top funding, our selection as a finalist, as well as the recent news that Kentucky made the greatest gains in reading scores in the nation, persuades us that we are on the right track. With the combined efforts of my office, the Department of Education (KDE) and the General Assembly, Kentucky will remain a strong contender for the second phase of these federal funds. In the meantime we will continue to move forward with our vision for education reform through the ongoing efforts of the Governor’s Transforming Education in Kentucky task force, as well as the implementation of Senate Bill 1 of 2009. With the successful passage of Senate Bill 176, as well as other pending legislation, we can strengthen our Phase 2 application, and I will continue to work with KDE and the General Assembly to find other areas we can improve upon.”
Kentucky's Application PDF (18.0M);
Appendix PDF (92.7M);
Score sheet PDF (50.8K) and
Reviewers' comments and scores PDF (19.2M) at US Ed.
The U.S. Department of Education will have about $3.4 billion available for the second phase of the Race to the Top competition.
“We set a very high bar for the first phase,” Duncan said. “With $3.4 billion still available, we’re providing plenty of opportunity for all other states to develop plans and aggressively pursue reform.”
The $4.35 billion Race to the Top Fund is an unprecedented federal investment in reform. The program includes $4 billion for statewide reform grants and $350 million to support states working together to improve the quality of their assessments. The Race to the Top state competition is designed to reward states that are leading the way in comprehensive, coherent, statewide education reform across four key areas:
- Adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace;
- Building data systems that measure student growth and success, and inform teachers and principals how to improve instruction;
- Recruiting, developing, rewarding, and retaining effective teachers and principals, especially where they are needed most; and
- Turning around their lowest-performing schools.
Forty states and the District of Columbia submitted applications for the first phase of grants. Delaware and Tennessee were selected from among 16 finalists who presented their proposals to panels of peer reviewers earlier this month.
The peer reviewers awarded the highest scores to Delaware and Tennessee. They awarded Delaware and Tennessee high marks for the commitment to reform from key stakeholders, including elected officials, teacher’s union leaders, and business leaders. In both states, all school districts committed to implementing Race to the Top reforms. Delaware and Tennessee also have aggressive plans to improve teacher and principal evaluation, use data to inform instructional decisions, and turn around their lowest-performing schools. In addition, both states have put in place strong laws and policies to support their reform efforts.
Applications for Phase 2 of Race to the Top are due on June 1, 2010. To help states as they prepare their proposals and to continue the nationwide dialogue on education reform, the Department of Education has made all Phase 1 applications, peer reviewers’ comments, and scores available on its website; videos of states’ presentations will be posted next week.
The Department is making one change to the rules for the Phase 2 competition. To fund as many strong applications as possible, the Department of Education is requiring states’ budgets to be within the ranges that were suggested in the original notice.
Why Delaware and Tennessee Won Race to the Top
This from Politics K-12:
In two words: stakeholder support. Both states had strong plans and significant buy-in from local school districts and teachers' unions.
Delaware
• Unanimous participation, broad collaboration: 100% of the state's districts and teachers signed on; 100% of the state's students will benefit; stakeholders include governor, state education department, local districts (LEAs), unions, business community
• New state law on teacher/principal effectiveness: no educators can be rated as "effective" unless their students demonstrate satisfactory levels of growth; teachers rated as "ineffective" for two to three years can be removed from the classroom, even if they have tenure
• Financial incentives help to more equitably distribute effective talent: teacher and principals can earn transfer bonuses and up to $10,000 per year for teaching in high-need schools and subjects
• Turnarounds, or "time-limited escalation" strategy: allows an identified school to locally bargain for implementation of turnaround or transformation model; if unsuccessful, the state implements restart or closure model; school must show improvement within two years
The folks at Prichard remain optimistic, saying that even though Kentucky did not receive funding in the first round of funding, good things are happening:
Stronger standards - with Kentucky leaders committed to the common core approach.
More effective evaluation methods.
Better-aligned principal and teacher preparation programs.
More intense intervention in the state's weakest schools.
Better integrated P-16 data systems.
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