Brain Top Off!

A competition among states for more than $ 3 billion in federal education reform grants is called Race to the Top. In the second round of the contest, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan declared Wednesday that 18 states and Washington D.C. as finalists. Finalists for instance California confident various school district to cooperate with the grant application. Losers like Nevada had politicians blaming each other and using the occasion to blast big government. Source of article – Race to the Top finalists compete for federal education grants by Newystype.com.

Race to the Top grants total $ 3.4 billion

Delaware and Tennessee received $ 100 million and $ 300 million respectively for winning the first round of Race to the Top in March. In the second phase, the Department of Education will hand out $ 3.4 billion for education reform. 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 within the second round. In August each state will send representatives to compete in the interview phase of the competition. In September winners will be announced.

Education reform – “a quiet revolution”

Duncan called the program part of “a quiet revolution” in education reform in a speech to the National Press Club in Washington, where he announced the Race to the Top finalists. Race to the Top supporters say the biggest accomplishment of the program is that it motivates states to take on controversial reforms before spending any cash. 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 cooperation helps it advance

California became a Race to the Top finalist after finishing out of the money within the first round. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that across the state, 300 local school districts and county offices of education signed on to the Race to the Top application, agreeing to implement the reforms it outlined. 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.

Nevada politicians blame each other for failure

Nevada paid a consultant $ 40,000 to write its unsuccessful 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. Even 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 .

Discover more info on this subject

press.org

sfgate.com

fox5vegas.com

Post a Comment