Race to the Top and the Federal Education Stimulus

Recent efforts on the national stage have paved the way for large-scale education reform that aims to achieve college and work readiness for all students. In February 2009, President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which included some $100 billion in education stimulus dollars, including the $4.35 billion Race to the Top fund.

 

The RTTT fund is a competitive grant program that aims to encourage and reward states that are willing to push forward the boldest reforms. States throughout the country—including Washington—will be competing for a share of the Race to the Top Fund, based on their work in five policy areas: internationally-benchmarked college- and career-ready standards and assessments, improving teacher and principal effectiveness, better data systems, turning around low-performing schools and strengthening Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. Fewer than 15 states are expected to win Race to the Top awards, and those that do will likely win big: the awards are projected to total $300-$500 million per state.

 

The RTTT fund is a competitive grant program that aims to encourage and reward states that are willing to push forward the boldest reforms. States throughout the country—including Washington—will be competing for a share of the Race to the Top Fund, based on their work in five policy areas: internationally-benchmarked college- and career-ready standards and assessments, improving teacher and principal effectiveness, better data systems, turning around low-performing schools and strengthening Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. Fewer than 15 states are expected to win Race to the Top awards, and those that do will likely win big: the awards are projected to total $300-$500 million per state.

 

Washington has announced that it plans to participate in the second round of Race to the Top, and with the state's recent passage of Race to the Top legislation, much of the groundwork has been laid.  However, the state’s recently-passed reforms, such as school turnaround authority and provisional adoption of common standards, only bring Washington to the starting line. Due to the state’s lack of charter schools and teacher performance pay, Washington must seek out districts willing to push the envelope and enact the bold reforms called for by the federal government. The hard work now begins as the state prepares to work with local districts and develop an application that is innovative and builds upon current reforms to make Washington highly competitive for Race to the Top.

Investing in Innovation (i3) and Other Federal Competitive Grants

Race to the Top dollars are not the only stimulus funds that Washington should be working to secure. The state must also make major policy changes to be competitive for other key stimulus funds, including Title I School Improvement Grants, Investing in Innovation Fund (i3), The Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF), and Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems grants. These initiatives have the potential to inject millions of dollars into the state's education reform efforts, but the state first needs to demonstrate its commitment and movement on key policy fronts.

 

 

Dateline: January 11, 2010, 2:11 pm