Racing to the Top
If you follow education at all, you’ve probably heard “Race to the Top” mentioned lately. The new federal program is supposed to put money directly to education, but states have to compete for a share of the $4.35 billion.
The amount each state gets in the end will be decided by the proposals and measures states have in place, which will be ranked and tallied for a particular sum.
The first round of applications closed earlier this month. Oregon is applying for the money, and qualifies for about $200 million. Washington state did not apply, although state leadership has indicated a desire to apply during the second round of applications in the spring.
Money will go to states that prove the best innovations and practices at improving academics. Some of the most basic questions – are students learning? are they progressing? do parents and students have choices? Are good teachers being properly compensated and recognized? Are bad teachers being disciplined or removed in a timely way?
From the literature out there, it seems pretty clear that states with charter school laws are going to be ahead in the race. Randy Dorn, Washington’s top educator, said today that not having charter schools in the state will hurt Washington’s chances.
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools believes Washington state may miss out on as much as $250 million of the Race to the Top money in part because of their lack of a charter school law.
Dorn also noted that the state’s “cumbersome process to remove poor teachers” will make us less competitive for the grant.
But new Legislation, Senate Bill 6696, outlines the state’s commitment to improving education. Dorn believes the bill “will move us past the starting line but will not win the race.”
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