Delaware, Tennessee Awarded Race to the Top Grants to Implement Education Reforms

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) announced Delaware and Tennessee as the first states to receive Race to the Top grants.  As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the $4 billion Race to the Top program (RTTT) seeks to provide states with funding to implement education reforms in four key areas:
•       Adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace;
•       Building data systems that measure student growth and success, and inform teachers and principals how to
improve instruction;
•       Recruiting, developing, rewarding, and retaining effective teachers and principals, especially where they are needed most; and
•       Turning around their lowest-performing schools.

Earlier this month, the Department announced that of the 40 states that had applied for RTTT funds, 16 finalists were invited to travel to Washington, DC to provide an oral presentation to Department officials. States that did not win in the first round are able to apply for a second round of funding by the June 1, 2010 deadline.  The Department will have $3.4 billion to distribute for the second phase of RTTT.

Since the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – better known as the economic stimulus – CEC has been actively involved in providing feedback to the Department to ensure that consideration is given to children and youth with disabilities and/or gifts and talents and the professionals who work on their behalf.  The final RTTT application – which was open for public comment last year – includes many changes CEC advocated for including a focus on the concepts of universal design for learning (UDL), and broadening of the definition of evaluating teacher and principal performance to include the use of “multiple measures”.

Read the Race to the Top Winner Announcement


Read CEC’s Comments to the Race to the Top Application

Comments

[wood pellet fuel]

providing feedback to the Department to ensure that consideration is given to children and youth with disabilities and/or gifts and talents and the professionals who work on their behalf. The final RTTT application – which was open for public comment last year – includes many changes CEC advocated for including a focus on the concepts of universal design for learning (UDL), and broadening of the definition of evaluating teacher and principal performance to include the use of “multiple measures”.