18 states and District of Columbia are finalists for education grants, By Robbie Brown, July 27, 2010, New York Times: “Eighteen states and the District of Columbia were named as finalists on Tuesday in the second round of a national competition for $3.4 billion in federal financing to support an overhaul of education policies. The much-anticipated decision by the federal Education Department eliminated almost half of the 35 states that entered the competition, called Race to the Top. The finalists are Arizona, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and South Carolina. Winners will be announced in September, and federal officials say they expect 10 to 15 of the finalists to receive financing…”
Tag: Race to the Top
Education Reform and Race to the Top
Ed Dept, civil rights leaders discuss reform, By Christine Armario and Dorie Turner (AP), July 26, 2010, Miami Herald: “Civil rights leaders are criticizing Obama administration education reforms aimed at turning around low performing schools and closing the achievement gap for minority students. Eight civil rights organizations, including the NAACP, contend in a document released Monday the Education Department is promoting ineffective approaches for failing schools. They also claim the $4.35 billion “Race to the Top” grant competition – a program with a goal of spurring innovative reform in states – leaves out many minority students. “We want to be supportive, but more important than supporting an administration is supporting our children across the country and ensuring that they have an opportunity to learn,” said John Jackson, president of the Schott Foundation for Education, one of the groups that developed the document. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and a White House adviser met with the groups Monday, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the Rev. Al Sharpton and the presidents of the National Urban League and NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. The groups distributed the document to members of Congress last week…”
Race to the Top Funding- Tennessee
Poorer TN schools will get most Race to the Top aid, By Chas Sisk, April 14, 2010, The Tennessean: “Tennessee schools are set to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid through the Race to the Top program, but districts can expect to get vastly different amounts from the effort to raise the state’s education standards. School districts will get half of Tennessee’s $500 million award from the federal government, with the other half remaining under the control of the state government. How much each district gets will be tied to poverty measures, meaning that urban and poor rural districts will get many times more money per pupil from the program than their suburban counterparts. About 40 percent of the $250 million earmarked for school districts through the Race to the Top program is expected to go to two school districts – Metro Nashville and Memphis…”