Quality Public Education for All New Jersey Students

 

 
     3-30-13 Education in the News - Dept of Education-State Budget, Autism Rates in NJ
     3-20-12 Education Issues in the News
     3-6-12Tenure Reform News - Discussion at Senate Education Committee
     2-23-12 State Aid Figures Released late today: GSCS Statement
     2-29-12 NJTV on NJ School Funding...and, Reporters' Roundtable back on the aire
     S1455 Ruiz TEACHNJ Act, introduced February 2012
     S1455 Ruiz TEACHNJ Act
     November Elections for Schools - Department of Education FAQ's
     1-18-12 GSCS ‘Take’ on the School Elections Law
     1-24-12 Education Issues in the News
     1-24-12 Supreme Court Justices Nominated by Governor Christie
     Committe Assignments for 2012-2013 under the new 215th Legislature rolling out
     Education Transformation Task Force Initial Report...45 recommendations for starters
     9-12-11 Governor's Press Notice & Fact Sheet re: Education Transformation Task Force Report
     Democrat Budget Proposal per S4000, for Fiscal Year 2011-2012
     Additional School Aid [if the school funding formula,SFRA, were fully funded for all districts] per Millionaires' Tax bill S2969
     6-24-11 Democrat Budget Proposal brings aid to all districts
     6-1-11 Supreme Court Justice nominee, Anne Paterson, passed muster with Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday by 11-1 margin
     4-29-11 BOOMERANG! Near 80 per cent of School Budgets Passed in Wednesday'sSchool Elections
     4-26-11 School Elections, Randi Weingarten in NJ, Special Educ Aid, Shared Services bill
     4-25-11 Charter Schools in Suburbia: More Argument than Agreement
     4-24-11 Major Education Issues in the News
     4-21-11 Supreme Court hears school funding argument
     4-14-11 Governor Releases Legislation to Address Education Reform Package
     4-13-11 Governor's Proposed Legislation on Education Reform April 2011
     4-5-11 Education Issues in the News
     4-8-11 Education Issues in the News
     4-7-11 Gov. Christie - 'Addressing New Jersey's Most Pressing Education Challenges'
     4-3-11Press of Atlantic City - Pending Supreme Court ruling could boost aid to New Jersey schools
     4-2-11 The Record - Charter school in Hackensack among 58 bids
     4-1-11 N.J. gets 58 charter school applications
     3-31-11 Charters an Issue in the Suburbs - and - So far, only 7 Separate Questions on April School Budget Ballots
     3-26-11 New Jersey’s school-funding battle could use a dose of reality
     Link to Special Master Judge Doyne's Recommendations on School Funding law to the Supreme Court 3-22-11
     3-22-11 Special Master's Report to the Supreme Court: State did not meet its school funding obligation
     GSCS - Local District Listing : Local Funds Transferred to Charter Schools 2001-2010
     GSCS Bar Chart: Statewide Special Education cost percent compared to Regular & Other Instructional cost percent 2004-2011
     3-4-11 'Teacher Evaluation Task Force Files Its Report'
     3-6-11 Poll: Tenure reform being positively received by the public
     Link to Teacher Evaluation Task Force Report
     GSCS Take on Governor's Budget Message
     Gov's Budget Message for Fiscal Year 2010-2011 Today, 2pm
     Tenure Reform - Video patch to Commissioner Cerf's presentation on 2-16-10
     2-16-11 Commissioner Cerf talks to educators on Tenure, Merit Pay , related reforms agenda
     Assembly Education Committee hearing Feb 2-10-11
     Assembly Education Committee hearing today, Feb 10, 2011
     9-12-10 ‘Schools coping, in spite of steep cuts'
     12-10-10 ‘NJN could get funding to stay on air as lawmakers weigh network's fate’
     2-7-11 Education - and Controversy - in the News
     1-25-11 Education in the News
     1-24-11 GSCSS Testimony before Assembly Education Committee: Charter School Reform
     1-24-11 GSCS Testimony on Charter School Reform before Assembly Eduction Committee today
     1-20-11 GSCS Testimony before Senator Buono's Education Aid Impact hearing in Edison
     Assembly Education Hearing on Charter School Reform Monday, 1-24-11, 1 pm
     GSCS Board of Trustees endorsed ACTION LETTER to Trenton asking for caution on Charter School expansion
     GSCS testimony on Tenure Reform - Senate Education Committee 12-09-10
     12-12-10 'Rash of upcoming superintendent retirements raises questions on Gov. Christie's pay cap'
     12-8-10 Education & Related Issues in the News - Tenure Reform, Sup't Salary Caps Reactions, Property Valuations Inflated
     12-7-10 Education Issues continue in the news
     12-6-10 njspotlight.com 'Christie to Name New Education Commissioner by Year End'
     12-5-10 Sunday News - Education-related Issues
     11-19-10 In the News - First Hearing held on Superintendent Salary Caps at Kean University
     11-19-10 NJ Spotlight reports on 'National Report Card (NAEP) Rates NJ Schools'
     11-15-10 GSCS meeting with Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver
     GSCS Education Forum Stayed Focused on Quality Education
     Governor's Toolkit Summary - Updated November 2010
     11-18-10 Superintendent Salary Caps to be publicly discussed tonight at Kean University
     10-8-10 Education Issue in the News
     9-15-10 'Governor Christie outlines cuts to N.J. workers' pension, benefits'
     GSCS Heads Up - County-wide school district governance legislation getting ready to move
     9-1-10 Education in the News
     8-31-10 Latest development: Schunder's margin notes reveal application error
     8-27-10 later morning - breaking news: Statehouse Bureau ‘Gov. Chris Christie fires N.J. schools chief Bret Schundler’
     8-27-10 Star Ledger ‘U.S. officials refute Christie on attempt to fix Race to the Top application during presentation’
     8-25-10 Race to the Top articles - the 'day after' news analysis
     8-24-10 Race to the Top Award Recipients named
     8-23-10 S2208 (Sarlo-Allen prime sponsors) passes 36-0 (4 members 'not voting') in the Senate on 8-23-10
     8-16-10 Senate Education hears 'for discussion only' comments re expanding charter school authorization process; Commissioner Schundler relays education priorities to the Committee
     8-13-10 East Brunswick Public School seeks stay on Hatikvah Charter School opening this fall (re: Hatikvah not meeting minimum enrollment requirement)
     7-22-10 'Summer school falls victim to budget cuts in many suburban towns'
     7-21-10 List of bills in Governor's 'Toolkit'
     Governor's Toolkit bills listing
     7-18-10 Troublesome sign of the times? Read article on the growing trend for education foundations - the pressure to provide what the state no longer supports for education...California's Proposition 13 cited
     7-16-10 GSCS Information & Comments - S29 Property Tax Cap Law and Proposal to Reduce Superintendent salaries ....
     7-15 & 16 -10 'Caps - PLURAL!' in the news
     GSCS - High costs of Special Education must be addressed asap, & appropriately
     7-12-10 Assembly passes S29 - the 2% cap bill - 73 to 4, with 3 not voting
     GSCS re:PropertyTax Cap bill - Exemption needed for Special Education enrollment costs
     7-8-10 Tax Caps, Education in the News
     GSCS:Tax Cap Exemption needed for Special Education Costs
     7-3-10 Governor Christie and Legislative leaders reached agreement today on a 2% property tax cap with 4 major exemptions
     7-1 and 2- 10 Governor Christie convened the Legislature to address property tax reform
     6-29-10 GSCS - The question remains: ? Whither property Tax Reform
     GSCS On the Scene in Trenton: State Budget poised to pass late Monday...Cap Proposals, Opportunity Scholarship Act in Limbo
     GSCS On the Scene in Trenton: Cap Proposals, Opportunity Scholarship Act in Limbo
     6-25-10 Appropriations Act bills for Fiscal Year 2010-2011 available on NJ Legislature website - here are the links
     6-23-10 Trenton News: State Budget on the move...Education Issues
     On the GSCS Radar Screen: Recently proposed (early June '10) legislation S2043 brings back Last Best Offer (LBO) for school boards in negotiations
     On the GSCS RADAR SCREEN S2021 (June '10) sponsored by Senator Tom Kean
     On the GSCS Radar Screen: Recently proposed legislation S2043 brings back Last Best Offer (LBO) for school boards in negotiations
     6-8-10 Education issues in the news today - including 'hold' on pension reform, round two
     On the GSCS Legislative Radar Screen
     6-4-10 S1762 passed unanmiously out of Senate Education Committee yesterday
     6-3-10 RTTT controversy remains top news - articles and editorials, column
     6-2-10 RACE TO THE TOP (RTTT) 'NJ STYLE': It is what it is ...but what exactly is it? Race to the Top application is caught in a crossfire of reports - more information and clarity is needed
     Senate Education Committee Agenda for 6-3-10
     5-11-10 njspotlight.com focuses on NJ's plans for and reactions to education reform
     ADMINISTRATION'S PLANS CITED FOR ROUND 2 - RACE TO THE TOP GRANT
     5-8 & 9-10 Education Reform Proposals Annoucned
     5-9-10 'Gov Christie to propose permanent caps on salary raises for public workers'
     5-3-10 NY Times 'Despite Push, Success at Charter Schools is Mixed
     3-30-10 Race to the Top winners helped by local buy-in
     3-31-10 What's Going on in Local Districts?
     3-26-10 GSCS: Effective & Well-Reasoned Communication with State Leaders is Critical
     3-26-10 School Aid, Budget Shortfall - Impt Related Issues = Front Page News
     3-25-10 NEW PENSION REFORM LAW - INFORMATION
     FAQ's on Pension Reform bills signed into law March 22, 2010
     3-23-10 GSCS Testimony presented to Senate Budget Committee on State Budget FY'11
     3-21-10 Reform bills up for a vote in the Assembly on Monday, March 22
     3-11-10 'GOP vows tools to cut expenses, tighter caps'
     3-5-10 HomeTowne Video taping + interviews of GSCS Summit@Summit
     3-5-10 GSCS Summit@Summit with Bret Schundler to be lead topic on Hall Institute's weekly 2:30 pm podcast today
     2-26-10 'NJ average property taxes grow 3.3 percent to an average of $7,300'
     2-25-10 Gov. Christie's Red Tape Review Comm., chaired by Lt. Gov. Guadagno, to hold public hearings In March
     2-24-10 Pension Reform bills to be introduced in Assembly this Thursday
     2-24-10 'Tight funds raise class sizes that districts long sought to cut'
     2-22-10 Christie and unions poised to do batttle over budget cuts'
     2-19-10 'Acting NJ education commissioner hoping other savings can ward off cuts'
     2-22-10 Trenton Active Today
     Flyer for March 2 Education 'Summit@Summit'
     MARK YOUR CALENDARS! GSCS GENERAL MEMBERSHIP-STATEWIDE MEETING 'THE SUMMIT AT SUMMIT', TUESDAY MARCH 2, 7:30 p.m., Details to follow
     2-14-10 'FAQ's on NJ's state of fiscal emergency declaration by Gov. Christie'
     2-12-10 Assembly Budget hearing posted for this Wednesday, Feb. 17
     FY2010 Budget Solutions - PRESS PACKET
     School Aid Withheld Spreadsheet
     2-12-10 News Coverage: Governor Christie's message on actions to address current fiscal year state budget deficits
     2-11-10 Gov Christie address to Joint Session of the Legislature on state budget and current year aid reduction remains scheduled for today
     2-10-10 'Schools are likely targets for NJ budget cuts'
     2-9-10 News article posted this morning notes potential for large loss of current year school aid
     2-8-10 Northjersey.com editorial 'Tightenting our Belts'
     2-8-10 'School leaders around N.J. wait and worry over state aid figures'
     2-8-10'Gov Christie, lawmakers proporse sweeping pension, health care changes for public employees'
     2-4-10 'Christie advisers call for tough new school rules'
     1-28-10 School Surplus plan to supplant State Aid in this year gaining probability
     Governor Christie Education Transition Team Report , released 1-22-10
     1-22-10 "N.J. poll finds support for easier teach dismissal, merit pay'
     1-20-10 'N.J. files application for federal Race to the Top education money'
     1-20-10 Editorials, Commentary on New Governor in Trenton
     1-18-10 Advance news on 'Christie as new Governor'
     GSCS to speak at Tri-District 'Open' meeting in Monmouth on January 27
     1-15-10 Education News-Race to the Top incentives, NCLB annual results, supermajority vote upheld
     1-14-10 'N.J. Gov.-elect Christie targets teachers' union with Schundler appointment'
     1-14-10 'To lead schools, Christie picks voucher advocate'
     1-12-10 Lame Duck Session is over
     1-11-10 Transition News
     1-10-10 'Educators say consolidating school districts doesn't add up'
     1-8-10 Of Note for schools - from Lame Duck session yesterday, 1-7-10
     1-6-10 Race to the Top Plans on the move, not without conflict
     1-6-10 Lame Duck Legislative Calendar Updated
     12-31-09 Commissioner invites chief school administrators to Race to the Top meeting
     1-5-10 GSCS: Update on January 4 Lame Duck Session & State School Aid Proposal
     1-5-10 Lame Duck Legislative Calendar through January 12th
     1-5-10 Update on January 4 Lame Duck Session
     12-23-09 Gannett article provides details on Gov. Corzine's proposal to use additional surplus in place of state aid
     12-23-09 GSCS: Governor Corzine targets excess school surplus to replace state aid payments starting in Feb '10 - lame duck legislation anticipated
     1-4-10 Legislative Calendar through January 12th
     1-4-10 Assembly Education Committee Agenda
     12-30-09 January 4th Senate Quorum -Committee Schedule (Assembly not yet public information)
     January 2010 Lame Duck Legislative Schedule
     12-15-09 Also on the GSCS Radar Screen
     12-15-09 On the GSCS Radar Screen: S2850 poised for a vote
     11-17-09 Politickernj's 'Inside Edge' on Possible Education Committee Chairs
     11-19-09 GSCS HEADS UP: Prevailing Wage bills on 'lame duck fast track' to be heard on 11-23-09
     11-13-09 Education Week on: Gov-elect Christie's Education Agenda; Race to the Top Funds Rules
     11-12-09 p.m. Lame Duck Schedule Announced
     10-26-09 'High school sports spending grows as budgets get tighter inNew Jersey'
     10-2009 On the GSCS Radar Screen
     10-1-09 Education Week on Acheivement Gap narrowing; Algebra Testing
     10-1-09 Information on S2850 Prevailing Wage bill - food service workers included
     9-29-09 My Central NJ article on merging v home rule struggle
     GSCS Report on its Annual Meeting June 2009
     9-27-09 Education News of Note
     9-23-09 'Tests changing for special ed students'
     9-13-09 As an issue for N.J.(Gubernatorial election), schools are in'
     8-10-09 News of Note
     8-7-09 'Bill would strengthen teacher tenure rights'
     7-14-09 Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial
     6-26-09 Floor Amendment to A1489 re Extracurricular fees
     6-26-09 Executive Director to GSCS Trustees; Wrap Up Report - State Budget and Assembly bills this week
     6-26-09 Education Issues in the News
     6-23-09 A4141 & S3000 clarifies how to eliminate Non-Operating school districts
     6-23-09 Grassroots at Work re A4140, A4142 and A1489
     6-23-09 Press of Atlantic City on Assembly Education hearing yestserday
     6-22-09 Assembly Education moves bills out of committee
     6-22-09 GSCS Testimony A1489, A4140, A4142
     6-22-09 Bills A4140, 4142, and A1489
     6-21-09 Assembly Education hearing for 6-22 9 am
     6-15-09 GSCS Testifies on its concerns re S2850
     6-11-09 GSCS - it sometimes defies logic
     4-5-09 The Record, Sunday April 5, Front Page Opinion
     4-5-09 A new approach to an old math problem'
     12-28-08 NY Times 'Pension Fight Signals What Lies Ahead'
     12-29-08 NJ to new leaders - Fund our schools
     12-21-08 GSCS EMAILNET - Excerpts
     11-25-08 Perspective piece criticizes recent Supreme Court Abbott decision
     11-24-08 Editorial asks for preschool initiative slow down
     11-23-08 'State lacks financial incentives to sell concept of school mergers'
     11-4-08 NCLB early test results
     10-6-08 D.O.E. October Workshops on Transforming High Schools
     10-6-08 October Workshops on Tranforming High Schools
     GSCS, Special Education Coalition for Funding Reform, and Rutgers Institute co-sponsor Forum Oct 7th
     10-8-08 GSCS spotlights preschool expansion implementation issues as a prioirty
     9-30-08 Senate Education Committee meets 10-2-08
     9-24-08 Editorials re High School Redesign issues
     9-24-08 Commissioner of Education at Assembly Education Committee yesterday
     9-24-08 Supreme Court hearing on constitutionality of School Funding Reform Act
     9-17-08 HIGH SCHOOL 'REDESIGN' PLAN TO BE DISCUSSED AT STATE BOARD OF ED TODAY
     SAVE THE DATE - OCT. 7TH
     6-17-08 School bills passed in Assembly yesterday
     6-13-08 News on Education Committee actions yesterday in Trenton
     4-07 The CORE bill 'A4' in its entirety
     5-15-08 Bills A10 and A15 already posted for a vote in the Assembly this Monday 5-19-08
     9-20-07 New Jersey School Boards Assoc. Releases its Report on Special Education
     9-20-07 With eyes on the future, justices look back at Abbott
     7-31-07 EMAILNET Status of School Funding Formula, more
     Public Education Institute Forum 9-19-07
     Recent education Research articles of note from Public Educ Network
     APRIL '07 MOODY's OUTLOOK ON SCHOOLS -NEGATIVE
     8-9-06 Special Session Jt Comm on Consolidation of Govt Services meeting 8-8-06
     8-2-06 Special Session 4 committees description
     8-2-06 Legislature's descriptoin of Jt Comm on School Funding Reform
     7--31-06 Legislature appoints Joint Committees on Property Tax Reform
     7-29-06 School Funding formula draws mixed reactions
     7-28-06 Gov to legislature: make history, cut taxes
     7-27-06 Trenton begins its move to address property taxes
     7-25-06 Associated Press Prop Tax Q & A
     7-19-06 Ledger -Advocates sue for release of report on school funding
     7-16-06 (thru 7-21-06) Bergen Record series investigate cost of NJ public services & property tax link
     7-18-06 Live from the Ledger
     7-18-06 Education Law Center takes state to court over funding study
     7-18-07 Star Ledger on high taxes & quality education in one town
     7-16-06 Bergen Record series investigate cost of NJ public services & property tax link
     7-14-06 EMAILNET
     7-13-06 Articles - Property tax issues, teacher salaries, voucher suit filing
     7-12-06 Statehouse starts talking specifics about property tax reform
     7-11-06 Talk of Special Session on Property Tax Reform
     6-15-06 Star Ledger, Gannet articles- Abbott advocates demand school reform at educ. dept
     A54 Roberts - Revises title and duties of county supterintendent
     Status of Senate bills related to SCI report
     6-12-06 EMAILNET - Extraordinary Special Education student aid; FY07 Budget 'crunch' is on; news clips
     6-6-06 Legislative Leaders announce initial plans for property tax reform
     S1546 Moves School Elections - GSCS Position
     Representative GSCSTestimonies
     Funding Coalition submits paper 'Beginning Discussions on School Funding Reform'
     Find Your Legislator
     5-14-06N Y Times 'For school budgets the new word is NO'
     Assembly Speaker Roberts proposes 'CORE' plan for schools & towns
     AR168 WatsonColeman-Stanley
     5-16-06 EMAILNET Action in Trenton
     5-10-06 A Lot is going on - Major News fromTrenton
     5-9-06 Supreme Ct freezes aid & Asm Budget Comm grills DOE Commissioner
     4-21-06 School budget election fallout - politicians & press comment
     3-28-06 GSCS testimony before Assembly Budget Comm today
     4-17-06 EMAILNET
     4-8-07 Corzine Administration files brief with Supreme Court re Abbott funding
     4-16-06 Star Ledger editorial & article re Gov v. Abbott from 4-15-06
     3-28-06 GSCS testimony before Assembly Budget Comm
     Legislative Calendar during State Budget FY07 process
     3-24-06 Schools learn who wins, loses in Corzine budget
     3-10-06 Star Ledger 'Time is ripe for poorer districts to contribute.
     2-22-06 New York Times NCLB - 20 states ask for flexibility
     2-1-06 EMAILNET GSCS Advocacy FY07 Budget; On the Homepage Today
     Governor Corzine's Transition Team Reports
     1-25-06 Star Ledger 'School District's Woes Point to Rising Tax Resistance'
     1-19-06 EMAILNET Quick Facts, On the Homepage Today
     The Record7-10-05 Sunday Front Page Must Read
     GSCS submission to Governor Corzine's Education Policy Transiton Team
     1-15-06 The Record 2 Sunday Articles anticipating top issues confronting the Corzine administration
     1-15-06 Sunday Star Ledger front page on Property Taxes
     1-12-06 Star Ledger 'Lawmaker pushes tax relief plan'
     12-14-05 Asbury ParkPress Editorial 'Re-assess the ABC's of School Funding' notes the Governor's role is critical in making positive change occur
     Star Ledger 6-17-06 Seniors call for Tax Convention Senate Prefers Special Session
     Activists Hope to Revive School Funding Issue
     December 2005 Harvard Famiily Research Project Links
     12-5-05 Governor-elect Corzine selects policy advisory groups
     EMAILNET 12-3-05 Heads Up!
     YOU ARE INVITED - GSCS Invitation: Members and friends of education are invited to a December 7 Symposium on School Funding 'It's Time to get off the Dime - Pitfalls, Priorities and Potential'
     10-19-05 Courier Post-Gannett article on Gubernatorial Debate
     11-1-05 EMAILNET More information on Gubernatorial Candidates
     Lameduck Legislative Calendar November 10 2005 - January 9, 2006
     11-9-05 8 a.m. Election November 8 2005 information
     11-8-05 EMAILNET You are invited to Dec & Symposium on School Funding
     10-14-05 EMAILNET Parent question for Gubernatorial Candidates aired on 101.5 debate, SCC funds, Next Board meeting, press briefing notes
     November 8 2005 YOUR VOTE TODAY COUNTS ... Some news articles worth reading
     Education Law Center Issues Guildlines for Abbot School Districts
     10-16-05 Sunday Star Ledger & Gannet news articles on gubernatorial candidates take on important issues related to public education issues
     10-5-05 PRESS BRIEFING ON SCHOOL AID & FUNDING SPONSORED by Ad Hoc School Finance Discussion Group, GSCS is participant...10-6-05 ASbury Park Press (Gannett) & Press of Atlantic City articles
     Proposed State Budget for Fiscal Year 2006 - GSCS Testimony
     GSCS Testimony before Constitutional Convention Task Force
     NCLB
3-30-10 Race to the Top winners helped by local buy-in
Education Week - 'Local Buy-In Helps Two States Win Race to Top' "...Still, peer reviewers knocked points off for that low participation. In fact, if Georgia had gotten the full points for district participation, it would have been enough to push it ahead of Tennessee." Vol. 29, Issue 28


Local Buy-In Helps Two States Win Race to Top
By Michele McNeil and Lesli A. Maxwell , online 3-29-10
Delaware and Tennessee beat out 14 other finalists today to win the first-round competition for $4 billion in Race to the Top Fund grants, as U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan delivered on promises that he would set a “very, very high bar” for the economic-stimulus money.
Mr. Duncan praised the two states, which edged out front-runners Florida and Louisiana, for mustering strong district and teachers’ union support for their plans, for having superior data systems, and for submitting comprehensive proposals that touched “every single child” statewide.
“We now have two states that will blaze the path for the future of education reform,” Mr. Duncan said in a conference call with reporters (6.1MB|MP3). “This isn’t about funding nice pilot programs. This is about taking student achievement to an entirely different level, and doing it at scale.”
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Delaware, which was ranked No. 1 on the competition’s 500-point grading scale, will win about $100 million, while Tennessee, which came in second, will garner about $500 million.
Georgia missed the cut by just over 10 points, coming in third, while Florida, Illinois, and South Carolina, in descending order, rounded out the top six. Forty states and the District of Columbia applied in round one of the competition.
Mr. Duncan, who had sole discretion in picking the winners, said the point spread between those in the first and second places, and all other states, was wide enough for him to easily identify the winning applications. Although it was within Mr. Duncan’s discretion to pick any state to win, the secretary said he stuck strictly to the points awarded by the peer reviewers in making his decision.
By choosing only two states with relatively small student populations—both states together educate about 973,000 students—the Education Department is leaving $3.4 billion on the table for the remaining states to compete for in round two. Mr. Duncan said he expects 10 to 15 winners in the last round of competition, which is sure to be just as fierce, as cash-strapped states scrape for dollars to help prop up their K-12 school systems. Second-round applications are due June 1.
Putting so much money up for grabs in round two “sets up the best possible dynamics for states,” said Charles Barone, the director of federal legislation for the New York City-based political action committee Democrats for Education Reform. He noted that states now have the added benefit of seeing peer reviewers’ comments, which will provide a road map for winning in round two.
Beyond their bragging rights for winning round one, Delaware and Tennessee got a financial bonus, too: Their grants will amount to more per student than states that win in round two. In its round-one guidelines, the department suggested a state of Delaware’s size would win up to $75 million, but the state is getting about $25 million more than that. Tennessee’s top-line budget estimate was $250 million, and the state is getting twice that.
The department is changing the rules for the second round, capping the awards at its top-of-the-line estimates, which vary by student enrollment. Florida, for example, submitted an application that asked for $1.1 billion, but if it applies in the next round, its application must be built on programs that can be funded with no more than $700 million.
Stimulus Funding
The $4 billion in Race to the Top grants, which seek to reward states for their commitment to reforming teacher effectiveness, data systems, low-performing schools, and academic standards and assessments, are paid for through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed last year by Congress. The Obama administration is seeking an additional $1.35 billion in the fiscal 2011 federal budget to continue the contest next year.
A separate $350 million pool of Race to the Top money will go to help states develop common academic assessments.
With the announcement of the winners came the public release of the scores of all 41 applicants. They show, for example, that South Dakota ranked last in the race at 135.8 points, falling more than 100 points behind the next-closest laggard—Arizona, which scored 240.2 points.
The announcement that just two states won in the first round quelled much criticism that Mr. Duncan drew earlier this month when he selected as finalists 16 applications, representing one-third of all submitted, even as he was promising to make the competition very tough.
Earlier this month, the 16 finalists came to the nation’s capital to make a final, in-person pitch to peer reviewers—presentations that altered the final scores, but not the ultimate outcome, of the top two states.
Delaware Advanced Cause
Delaware pulled away from the pack and ended up with the highest number of points—454.6—after the live interviews with Race to the Top judges, improving on its position when the 16 finalists were announced. (Delaware originally was second, behind Tennessee, which ended up with 444.2 points.)
Delaware, which requested $107 million to pay for its reform plan, brought a delegation that included Gov. Jack Markell, Education Secretary Lillian M. Lowery, Diane Donohue, the president of the statewide teachers’ union, a district superintendent, and a leader from the state’s business community. Every school district and every local teachers’ union in the state signed on to the plan, which also helped put the state in first place.
“We know now that the interview was a huge piece for us,” said Daniel Cruce, Delaware’s deputy secretary of education. “We were able to successfully demonstrate that the governor and all of our panelists were intricately involved and committed to the plan. We had the union president present the piece around teacher accountability, which is one of the most controversial parts of the application.”
Delaware’s teacher-effectiveness plan includes a new law that allows teachers with tenure to be removed from their jobs if they are given “ineffective” ratings for two to three consecutive years, and teachers can only be given an “effective” rating after demonstrating adequate growth in their students’ academic achievement.
Through new regulations, the state’s education secretary can order any of Delaware’s lowest-performing schools to participate in the state’s “partnership zone,” which effectively forces the leaders in those school districts to choose one of four turnaround models outlined by the Education Department.
If district leaders and their union counterparts either disagree on how to overhaul a particular school or submit a proposal for turnaround that the state education secretary deems as too weak, the secretary can override it. In the event that a chosen turnaround model doesn’t deliver improved results within two years, the secretary can force the school to start over with a new approach.
Delaware’s size may also have been an advantage, Mr. Cruce said. With just 126,800 students, 19 districts, and 18 charter schools, executing those reforms on a statewide scale is doable, he said.
Tennessee’s Teacher Focus
Tennessee, where lawmakers passed legislation that mandates using student achievement as half of a teacher’s annual evaluation in every district, stood out for its mature “value-added” data system that has been around for nearly two decades. All of the state’s teacher-preparation programs, whether traditional, university-based ones, or nontraditional programs like Teach For America, must train their candidates in how to use the data system. Teacher candidates will have to demonstrate that they can use the system before they can be licensed.
At the behest of Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen, lawmakers held two special legislative sessions over the last year on education to enact a series of Race to the Top-related changes that included making the state’s cap on charter schools less prohibitive and overhauling teacher evaluations.
The governor, who will leave office next year because of term limits, also secured the signatures of all seven major gubernatorial candidates who vowed to back all of the changes outlined in Tennessee’s Race to the Top plan. He said in a conference call with reporters that his state clearly distinguished itself from most of the other finalists because its overhaul of teacher evaluations will be done statewide, not just in a limited number of willing school districts.
“We said at the outset it’s all or nothing,” Gov. Bredesen said. “We are past the point of demonstration projects or pilot projects.”
The governor was clearly thrilled that Tennessee, which has 846,000 students, will receive nearly all the money it asked for, which is more than twice what the Education Department had suggested as a nonbinding estimate for the state.
“We were supposed to ask for no more than $250 million,” the governor said. “We said ‘to heck with that,’ and basically we got all we asked for.”
Stakeholder Buy-In
By selecting two states that have near-universal support from school districts and state and local teachers’ unions, and in touting that achievement in press briefings, the federal Education Department is telegraphing the importance of stakeholder buy-in. That could help shape states’ strategies for round two.
“I think it gives unions and districts veto power” over states’ applications, said Andrew Smarick, an adjunct fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington think tank. “The real question is,” added Mr. Smarick,who has been a prolific writer on the Race to the Top program, “can any other state pull off what Tennessee and Delaware did?”
Florida and Louisiana, considered front-runners for the competition, did not have such strong local support.
Florida had an aggressive plan to improve teacher effectiveness, and was another of the four finalist states to base 50 percent of teacher evaluations on student data. The state went even further than the other finalists by requiring that all districts use the data to inform new performance-pay programs as well.
But insistence on those policies may have been the state’s downfall in the end. Of all of the 16 finalists, Florida, which ended the competition with 431.4 points, had the least amount of buy-in from its teachers’ unions, at 8 percent of participating districts.
Florida’s education commissioner, Eric J. Smith, issued a brief statement saying that he is “confident that with ... continued support, the feedback from our first application, and the possibilities contained in ongoing legislative efforts, we will be in a very strong position to win this next phase.”
Louisiana had been singled out for praise, time and again, by Mr. Duncan for its student and teacher data systems and the way it tracks how well teacher-preparation programs are doing. The state’s plan on teacher effectiveness was built principally around its pledge to design new teacher evaluations with a heavy emphasis on student performance. Louisiana is also one of six states (along with Delaware) that is part of a new, $75 million initiative to turn around low-performing schools using strategies created by the Boston-based Mass Insight Education and Research Institute.
With its state-run Recovery School District in place since 2005 to intervene in low-performing schools, Louisiana also has more experience at intervening in large numbers of schools than most other states.
But unlike in Delaware and Tennessee, state officials did not muster the broad-based support from Louisiana’s school districts, school boards, and teachers’ unions. The state came in 11th, with 418.2 points.
State Superintendent Paul G. Pastorek acknowledged that lack of local support was a likely factor in the state’s final score, but he said he does not want to water down any of the state’s proposals in order to garner more buy-in for a round two Race to the Top bid.
“I hate to adjust what we think is right just so that we can get a bigger score on collaboration,” he said. “We want to remain as ambitious as we’ve been in the past.”
Randi Weingarten, the president of the 1.4 million-member American Federation of Teachers, emphasized the importance of collaboration, not union leverage over Race to the Top applications.
“The key lever to changing schools is changing systems, which means you have to change the labor-management dynamic to be one that is very disciplined and very collaborative,” she said, noting the combative environment in New York, a finalist state that didn’t have an overwhelming amount of local district and union buy-in. “The screaming you heard from the [newspaper] tabloids in New York compared to the working together quietly in Tennessee and Delaware teaches us a thing or two,” she said.
Mr. Duncan maintains that no one factor is the key to winning the competition. “This is a 500-point competition. There are no make-or-break categories,” he said.
To that end, Georgia fared very well in the competition, placing third with 433.6 points, even though only 12.7 percent of its districts participated in the state’s Race to the Top plan. Still, peer reviewers knocked points off for that low participation. In fact, if Georgia had gotten the full points for district participation, it would have been enough to push it ahead of Tennessee.
Vol. 29, Issue 28