Parents and education advocates were disappointed to learn today that Washington State was not selected as a finalist in the second round of Race to the Top. In June, the state submitted an application to win up to $250 million from President Obama’s $4.3 billion federal Race to the Top fund for education reform and [...]
Race to the Top finalists to be announced Tuesday
July 26, 2010 By
Will Washington make the cut? That’s the question we’re all wondering for the second round of Race to the Top. Washington State is competing to win $250 million in federal grants to reform and innovate our public schools. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is expected to announce the finalists in round two at the [...]
Washington will submit Race to the Top application
May 19, 2010 By
An impressive number of school districts — 251 — have signed onto the state’s Race to the Top application, representing a whopping 96% of our students. And stragglers are still crossing the finish line! Does high participation even matter? Absolutely. Getting broad and deep buy in on our state’s new education reform plan from the [...]
The state wants feedback on its reform plan
May 5, 2010 By
Washington’s Race to the Top (R2T) application team — led by the governor’s office, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education — is drafting a reform plan to include in our R2T application (and drive education reform in WA, generally). And they want to hear from you! We’ve [...]
Gov’s R2T appeal to districts now public
April 15, 2010 By
The Race to the Top (R2T) participation agreement and appeal letter sent to districts is now public. The appeal comes from Washington’s team, lead by Gov. Chris Gregoire, Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn and State Board of Education Chair Jeff Vincent. Together, they are asking all 295 school districts to sign participation agreements by May [...]
Will WA be competitive in round 2 of Race to the Top?
April 1, 2010 By
Unless you completely ignore education news, you know Delaware and Tennessee are the winners of the first round of Race to the Top (R2T) grants. The national blogs (see here and here) are aflutter dissecting the winners and losers, trying to figure out what really separates the two. I’m not one to duplicate, however, it is worth [...]
Lawmakers reach agreements on key education bills
March 12, 2010 By
Parents, educators and students have a lot to celebrate this morning. On the final day of the 2010 legislative session, lawmakers reached agreements on key education bills. Thank you to legislators and especially parents and education advocates who worked so hard on behalf of kids this legislative session. Basic education funding bill Lawmakers took the [...]
State House passes Race to the Top legislation
March 5, 2010 By
The State House has passed legislation to help Washington win a federal Race to the Top grant and begin fully funding basic education (E2SSB 6696). The bill now goes to the state Senate for concurrence. Now, parents and educators need to contact their state senators to urge them to support Senate Bill 6696 as it [...]
Race to the Top, phase 1 finalists announced
March 4, 2010 By
From the U.S. Department of Education’s website, the 16 finalists for phase 1 of Race to the Top were announced this morning. Some may surprise, others may not (Education Week reporters made predictions using a bracket) — Colorado, Louisiana, Massachusetts and Ohio were considered early front-runners. The phase 1 finalists are: •Colorado •Delaware •District of Columbia [...]
Support reforms to put an effective educator in every classroom and school
February 18, 2010 By
You have an opportunity to make a difference for children by supporting strong Race to the Top* legislation that will put an effective teacher in every classroom and an effective leader in every school in Washington State. Here’s how you can take action: 1) Speak up at your town hall meeting. Attend your town hall [...]
