Here's a different perspective on Race to the Top from our neighboring towns.
A version of this story appears in The Daily Norwalk
School boards across Fairfield County have been deciding whether or not to sign on to the state’s application for Race to the Top Funding, the Obama Administration’s $4.35 billion education reform grant. A “memorandum of understanding” for Round II is due today, May 19. Connecticut stands to win as much as $175 million in federal funds if selected. Just this week, Westport, Darien, Fairfield, Wilton and Weston have all decided to participate. New Canaan and Norwalk had already signed on for Round I in January.
Much of the grant is geared toward disadvantaged school districts in the state. Affluent, high achieving districts (many did not sign on in Round 1) have been evaluating whether they have enough to gain by signing on to the state’s application this time. Connecticut’s application was rejected in the first round of Race to the Top, placing 25 out of 40 states. In this second round, Commissioner of Education Mark McQuillan is pushing for all districts to sign on to the Race to the Top application--approximately half signed on last time-- because it increases the state's chance of getting the grant. In addition, the Commissioner has increased the amount of funding allocated to smaller districts with low poverty rates. A town like Darien, for example, is now eligible for $140,000 over four years.
In addition, new laws were passed this month by the Connecticut General Assembly in order to align the state’s next application-- due in June--with Race to the Top goals of 1) improving teacher effectiveness, 2) creating better assessments aligned to rigorous standards, 3) fixing failing schools, or 4) using data systems to track student achievement. These new laws have changed the equation for many school districts.
Darien BOE Chair Kimberly Westcott said there has been “a lot of chatter” about RTTT among the area's board chairs. “The Board felt that it was important to be part of the conversation. Many aspects of the law are a work in progress. ”
Darien Superintendent Donald Fiftal supports the grant but is concerned about the scope of participation. “Here in New England, we are independent-minded and pride ourselves on local control of our schools. We have to be careful this program does not impede a district like Darien.
Westcott agreed, “In high performing districts like Darien we take a lot of pride in our curriculum and we like the way we teach. There can’t be a one size fit all solution.”
During a recent Fairfield BOE meeting, Superintendent Ann Clark said that Fairfield will be required by law to implement changes like increased high school graduation requirements and tying teacher evaluations to student program whether they are part of the grant application or not. “We might as well get some money for it."
“We are already doing many of the things in the application, like data improvement initiatives,” said Clark. “And the ones that we are not doing, we will be required to do by law. At this point there is no downside. The new law has changed everything."
Districts are worried about the cost of the new laws since there are no guarantees that Connecticut will win funding, and even if it does, the funds are unlikely to be enough to cover all the new requirements. “There is a feeling here that this is an unfunded mandate,” said Westcott.
New Canaan is an exception among its peer school districts because it chose to sign on to the application in Round I. “I see it as important way to support the state and show solidarity,“ said New Canaan Superintendent David Abbey.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
So, Darien, Westport, Wilton, and New Cannan consider themselves, "disadvantaged"? Interesting.
ReplyDeleteKnock it off with the purely negative and sarcastic comments. The state as a whole has to get on board and they could be doing Norwalk a favor. UGH! Send in a solution!
ReplyDeleteTeacher unions will never be out of business because there will always be administrators who bully and make work environments toxic.
ReplyDeleteWell said, 9:29. I'm not sure if I agree that "there will ALWAYS be administrators who bully and make work environments toxic," as you state. However, Norwalk Public Schools has hired inept individuals who continue to bully their staff on a daily basis. It's time for our new superintendent to correct this negative situation which does little to promote productivity, respect, and trust in our schools. Moreover, a negative climate for teachers and other staff personnel directly impacts upon students' motivation. The bullying has to stop!
ReplyDeleteTo 4:33 a.m.,
ReplyDeleteThe article clearly states "Commissioner of Education Mark McQuillan is pushing for all districts to sign on to the Race to the Top application--approximately half signed on last time-- because it increases the state's chance of getting the grant."
My take on it is that Darien and the other towns don't want to block the State being awarded funding. They may not need or want the money, but feel it should be available to those who do. I can't fault them for that.
I have some serious concerns about the Race to the Top, also, and find myself agreeing with the Darien BOE. I don't think it is a "one size fits all" situation.
I am concerned about the fact that Connecticut as a STATE was denied funding. Darien might not need the funding, but Bridgeport, New Haven and Hartford do. If some town somewhere along the way forgets to check off a box or doesn't do something right, the entire state misses out on funding. The funding for this "grant" is from the Federal taxes that we all pay.
I am also concerned in that where Federal money goes, Federal regulations follow. One thing I know is that when the Stimulus money was available, the District spent hours working on the application, only to have the Federal and State guidelines change, not once, not twice, but three times. And each time they did, the administration had to start all over again. I lost track of that particular grant after Round 3, so I don't even know if we got any money for our efforts. But I think it was a colossal waste of time and staff effort running after the elusive butterfly. Let me be very clear about this. It was not, I repeat, was not the fault of the Administration that the regulations kept changing. One wonders how much time was wasted that could have been used elsewhere. In this case it was Central Office staff, but it's a short step to the classroom.
In the business world there is something called "return on investment" (ROI). It actually makes our economy function. Just reading what little I have about this Race to the Top, I am wondering about the return on the investment. It's a competitive grant and what happens if the District jumps through all the hoops, clears all the hurdles and then either the State doesn't get the funding or the District isn't allocated any funding. Then it magically morphs into an unfunded mandate -- oh, and by the way, guess who foots the bill?
There's just too many unanswered questions here.