For those out there who think Race to the Top is just a one-off, one-year, unfunded mandate, I invite scrutiny of the following excerpt of last night’s State of the Union Address:
“This year, we have broken through the stalemate on the right and left by launching a national competition to improve our schools….When we renew the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, we will work with Congress to expand these reforms to all fifty states.”
You can watch and read the whole thing here.
Reform is here to stay – not just any reform, but the changes put forward through Race to the Top competition. Rather than stand pat on the status quo and decry difficult change, we need to get busy. If we don’t make the changes necessary to improve student achievement and close the achievement gap – changes we should make anyway – we may find ourselves on the losing end of this race.
