$ 3.4 billion in grants at stake for Race to the Top finalists

Billions of dollars in federal education reform grants are up for grabs within the Race to the Top. Wednesday, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan declared that 18 states and also the District of Columbia as finalists within the competition’s second round. Cooperation was the secret of success for final contestants such as California. In Nevada, which didn’t make the cut, politicians pointed fingers and called the program big government.
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 consist of 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. Race to the Top finalists will send teams to Washington in August for the competition’s interview phase. Race to the top winners will be announced in September.
Program motivates states to tackle education reform
In announcing the Race to the Top finalists in a speech to the National Press Club in Washington, Duncan called the program part of “a quiet revolution” in education reform. 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 cooperates to reach 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 said 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 Race to the Top application, written by superintendents from seven school districts, highlighted what districts are already doing to turn around struggling schools, evaluate and support teachers and principals, and measure student performance.
Politicians blame each other for Nevada’s failure
A consultant was paid $ 40,000 to write Nevada’s failing Race to the Top application. When Nevada failed to reach the finals, Fox News Las Vegas reported that politicians whipped out fingers of blame. Republican Governor Jim Gibbons was accused of a “lack of leadership” by Democratic Senator Harry Reid. Reid never “lifted a finger” to help his state compete, Gibbons said. 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 within the cold .
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