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'Race to the Top' education funds go to Delaware, Tennessee' By The Associated Press 3-29-10 "The U.S. Department of Education picked Delaware and Tennessee for the first round of its "Race to the Top" competition, giving part of an unprecedented $4.35 billion to the states, a person with knowledge of the choice said today..."
New Jersey lost out on Race to the Top money over lack of clarity, according to report - The Record 3-30-10
'Race to the Top' education funds go to Delaware, Tennessee
By The Associated Press
March 29, 2010, 11:22AM
The U.S. Department of Education picked Delaware and Tennessee for the first round of its "Race to the Top" competition, giving part of an unprecedented $4.35 billion to the states, a person with knowledge of the choice said today.
The states, selected from 16 finalists announced earlier this month, received hundreds of millions in grants designed to encourage the use of innovative programs to improve student performance and transform struggling schools.
It wasn't immediately known exactly how much money the two states would receive, but officials in Tennessee said they applied for $500 million and their counterparts in Delaware asked for $100 million.
The person declined to be identified because not all finalists had been yet contacted.
The winners beat out: Colorado, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and South Carolina.
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• N.J. files application for federal 'Race To The Top' education money |
U.S. Department of Education officials are expected to hold a press conference later Monday to talk about the winners. Education Secretary Arne Duncan was making calls to each finalist Monday morning to let them know the results.
The money is part of President Barack Obama's economic stimulus law, which provided a staggering $100 billion for schools. The $4.35 billion is part of that larger allocation.
The Education Department asked states to concentrate their proposals on four areas: adopting standards and assessments to better prepare students for careers and college; getting high-quality teachers into classroom; turning around low-performing schools; and creating data systems to track performance.
Federal officials will collect a second round of applications for the highly selective grant program in June. The states that were not picked this time can reapply for grants then.
More than 40 states applied for the grants, scrambling to widen charter school laws and enact performance pay for teachers to prove that they deserved part of the money.
Some education observers have criticized the "Race to the Top" competition, saying the administration is out of touch because it is pushing reform at a time when states can barely afford basic necessities and are laying off teachers by the hundreds.
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New Jersey lost out on Race to the Top money over lack of clarity, according to report
Monday, March 29, 2010
BY LESLIE BRODY
The Record
Staff Writer
New Jersey’s proposals for improving schools lacked "clarity and coherence," according to a federal report released Monday that showed why the state lost its bid for $400 million in Race to the Top money.
Federal reviewers complimented Trenton’s "thoughtful reform agenda" but called many of its strategies for achieving its goals "unclear." New Jersey’s score ranked 18 out 40 states and the District of Columbia.
Delaware won $100 million and Tennessee won $500 million in the grant contest that the Obama administration has touted as the nation’s moon shot for fixing the country’s beleaguered schools. The first-round winners had backing from local teachers’ unions.
New Jersey’s bid was hurt by the New Jersey Education Association’s refusal to endorse it. "The overwhelming lack of support among labor has the real and credible possibility to weaken the state’s reform agenda," the federal reviewers stated. The NJEA had called the proposal hasty and objected to provisions to link teacher pay more closely to student achievement.
But union protests were not the only problem. Among many concerns, reviewers at the U. S. Department of Education noted that:
It was unclear whether county offices, instruction specialists and the New Jersey education department had the "capacity, knowledge and skills necessary" to support districts in making major changes.
The application did not show how teacher evaluations would affect promotions.
The state did not maintain data to show which teachers were highly effective.
The state lacked a plan for removing ineffective principals, cutting the number of ineffective teachers and making sure an equitable share of talented faculty worked in high-poverty schools.
The reviewers praised New Jersey’s investment in early education, support for charter schools and
move to adopt national common core standards.
They also applauded Trenton for making education funding a priority. It is unclear how Gov. Christie’s announcement this month of a $820-million cut in aid to districts for fiscal 2011 might affect New Jersey’s bid for money in the second round of Race to the Top in June. Those cuts came on top of freezing $475 million of aid due to districts during the rest of this year.
Education Commissioner Bret Schundler said Monday New Jersey would be well positioned in the next round of Race to the Top; he said that considering the state’s dire fiscal crisis, the governor had made a "heroic commitment" to funding schools as much as possible. He said the cuts were due to the loss of $1 billion in one-shot federal stimulus funds.
"The real issue that’s important is for us to highlight that student learning is what matters," Schundler said.
The commissioner said he planned to ask for legislative changes soon that would allow for reform efforts to be contained in the state’s next Race to the Top bid. He declined to say what those changes would be. "I plan to announce them with some fanfare," Schundler said.
He said the initiatives would not change direction but rather accelerate the pace of reform in the state. "If we’re going to be a winner, we’re going to move a lot faster," he said.
Patricia Alex contributed to this report. E-mail: brody@northjersey.com
New Jersey’s proposals for improving schools lacked "clarity and coherence," according to a federal report released Monday that showed why the state lost its bid for $400 million in Race to the Top money.
Federal reviewers complimented Trenton’s "thoughtful reform agenda" but called many of its strategies for achieving its goals "unclear." New Jersey’s score ranked 18 out 40 states and the District of Columbia.
Delaware won $100 million and Tennessee won $500 million in the grant contest that the Obama administration has touted as the nation’s moon shot for fixing the country’s beleaguered schools. The first-round winners had backing from local teachers’ unions.
New Jersey’s bid was hurt by the New Jersey Education Association’s refusal to endorse it. "The overwhelming lack of support among labor has the real and credible possibility to weaken the state’s reform agenda," the federal reviewers stated. The NJEA had called the proposal hasty and objected to provisions to link teacher pay more closely to student achievement.
But union protests were not the only problem. Among many concerns, reviewers at the U. S. Department of Education noted that:
It was unclear whether county offices, instruction specialists and the New Jersey education department had the "capacity, knowledge and skills necessary" to support districts in making major changes.
The application did not show how teacher evaluations would affect promotions.
The state did not maintain data to show which teachers were highly effective.
The state lacked a plan for removing ineffective principals, cutting the number of ineffective teachers and making sure an equitable share of talented faculty worked in high-poverty schools.
The reviewers praised New Jersey’s investment in early education, support for charter schools and move to adopt national common core standards.
They also applauded Trenton for making education funding a priority. It is unclear how Gov. Christie’s announcement this month of a $820-million cut in aid to districts for fiscal 2011 might affect New Jersey’s bid for money in the second round of Race to the Top in June. Those cuts came on top of freezing $475 million of aid due to districts during the rest of this year.
Education Commissioner Bret Schundler said Monday New Jersey would be well positioned in the next round of Race to the Top; he said that considering the state’s dire fiscal crisis, the governor had made a "heroic commitment" to funding schools as much as possible. He said the cuts were due to the loss of $1 billion in one-shot federal stimulus funds.
"The real issue that’s important is for us to highlight that student learning is what matters," Schundler said.
The commissioner said he planned to ask for legislative changes soon that would allow for reform efforts to be contained in the state’s next Race to the Top bid. He declined to say what those changes would be. "I plan to announce them with some fanfare," Schundler said.
He said the initiatives would not change direction but rather accelerate the pace of reform in the state. "If we’re going to be a winner, we’re going to move a lot faster," he said.
