CT Applying for $150 million in Race to the Top Funding

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan released the final application for Race to the Top Funding last week on November 12th.   Race to the Top is an education initiative by the Obama Administration that will reward some states undertaking bold school improvement initiatives with awards totaling $4.35 billion.  Connecticut will be applying for a $150 million piece of this pie.

Race to the Top funding puts an emphasis on charter schools, using standardized test scores in teacher evaluation and merit pay systems, and encouraging local districts to dismiss staff at failing schools.

The State has been working since August to respond to the  requirements of the grant and has assembled a team of educators, including superintendents and teachers, and business leaders to help put together Connecticut’s proposal for reform.

According to Superintendent Papallo, no Norwalk district officials are involved in helping the State to prepare its application, however once a new superintendent is selected that person may get involved.

"I thought that it would be unfair to commit the new person to this project at this time.  If he or she wishes I am sure that they can become involved in the project," said Dr. Papallo in an email.

According to a press release from the Connecticut State Department of Education:

“This process is designed to have us take a good honest look at our education system and take action — at the state and local levels — to bring our schools into the 21st century and meet our responsibilities to our next generation of workers and citizens,” Commissioner McQuillan said. “We are requesting upwards of $150 million over three years to effect major change in Connecticut’s 1,100 public schools....

“Writing the application is only one part of the work. Essential to our application is the thinking of principals, teachers, university leaders and other policymakers. We’ve asked them to the table to help us build the strategic vision and mission guiding the grant,” Commissioner McQuillan said.

In addition, the Commissioner has invited 18 superintendents from Connecticut’s most disadvantaged communities to form a “virtual” district organized around three major reforms:
• urban school renewal;
• secondary school reform; and
•prekindergarten-Grade 6 academic improvement. 

“These initiatives have been part of the Department’s work with these districts since 2007, but with the prospect of dedicating new dollars to the work, the superintendents have expressed genuine hope that reforms that had once been out of reach — the creation of a longer school days, for example, coupled with major curricular innovations in science, mathematics and technology — may be possible with the funding provided."

Draft guidelines for the fund were released in August and were the subject of considerable criticism from states and educational organizations.  The new final guidelines reflect the feedback.

According the U.S. Dept. of Education press release:

The final application released today includes significant changes to the proposal released by the U.S. Department of Education in July. After reviewing responses to the draft proposals from 1,161 people, who submitted thousands of unique comments, ranging from one paragraph to 67 pages, the U.S. Department of Education restructured the application and changed it to reflect the ideas of the public.

"The public's input on this application was invaluable to us," Duncan said. "The comments helped us clarify that we want states to think through how they will create a comprehensive agenda to drive reform forward."

The final application also clarifies that states should use multiple measures to evaluate teachers and principals, including a strong emphasis on the growth in achievement of their students. But it also reinforces that successful applicants will need to have rigorous teacher and principal evaluation programs and use the results of teacher evaluations to inform what happens in the schools.

States have until mid-January to prepare applications for a first round of the grant competition, and until June for a second round. Applications must describe multiple strategies for change and must be accompanied by statements of support from leaders of local school districts.