A contest among states for more than $ 3 billion in federal education reform grants is called Race to the Top. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced Wednesday that 18 states and the District of Columbia are finalists in the second round of the contest. In states that advanced for instance California, various school districts cooperated to apply for the cash. In Nevada, which didn’t make the cut, politicians pointed fingers and called the program large government.
Race to the Top finalists vie for $ 3.4 billion
In March the first round of Race to the Top winners, Delaware and Tennessee, received $ 100 million and $ 500 million respectively. The Department of Education will hand out $ 3.4 billion in the form of education reform grants at the end of the second phase. Second round finalists contain 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. They will compete in August in the interview portion of the contest. In September winners can be declared.
Education reform: “a quiet revolution”
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. Supporters of the contest say its most profound effect is to motivate states to start taking action on controversial reforms before having to discover money for them in their budgets. 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
After finishing 27th out of 40 in the first round, California made the cut. 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. Superintendents from seven school districts wrote the application, which documented what the state has already done for education reform, including measuring student performance and supporting and evaluating teachers and principals.
Nevada politicians blame each other for failure
A consultant was paid $ 40,000 to write Nevada’s failing Race to the Top application. Fox News Las Vegas reports that Nevada’s failure to reach the finals sparked a fury of finger-pointing. Republican Governor Jim Gibbons was accused of a “lack of leadership” by Democratic Senator Harry Reid. Gibbons fired back, accusing Reid of never “lifting a finger” to help Nevada succeed. Perhaps 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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