D-Day

Today is the deadline for state applications in the first round of the Race to the Top grant competition. The easy prognostication to make is that the vast majority of the 39 states (and DC) that apply will have their initial applications rejected and all will reapply in round two, due in June. Most will fail then, too.

Despite the publicly released application scoring rubric, it is difficult to know exactly how the application scoring will play out, based upon who the reviewers are, whether Gates Foundation consultant funding helped certain states frame more compelling applications, stated or implicit pressures to fund only a certain number of applications (especially in round one), the importance lent to district and union buy-in from an implementation and sustainability perspective, and the strength of big-state applications versus small-state applications. To the latter point, there's ONLY $4 billion to be spread around, and the largest states could suck up as much as $700 million apiece. Florida, I believe, is very likely to be funded in round one. California and New York have much more of an uphill battle, and Texas, well, if Gov. Goodhair (thanks, Molly Ivins) has his way, may secede from the nation as well as the Race to the Top competition.

As I've said in a past post, my fervant hope is that states that have enacted 11th-hour bailouts of their Race to the Top prospects will not markedly benefit over states that have demonstrated historic commitment to education reform and the student outcomes that go along with it. Those states that have attempted to strengthen their chances by lifting charter caps, intervening in low-performing schools, raising academic standards, and enacting similar reforms should get some credit. But states that have taken these steps prior to Race to the Top influence should be recognized. By my estimation, states such as Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and others would be appropriately rewarded for such sustained commitment and/or demonstrated results.

That all said, President Obama announced today the inclusion of $1.35 billion in his FY 2011 federal budget for a third year of the Race to the Top competition (WaPo story here). What this means exactly is still unclear, and may not be until the two initial rounds of competition are done. My hope would be that the Obama Adminsitration would use new resources to extend funding for leading states rather than broaden the competition and fund some of the reform leggards out there.

Photo courtesy of davidavery.wordpress.com

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LATEST RACE TO THE TOP UPDATES

NATIONAL
Summary of state responses to the Race (Washington Post)

Last-minute resistance to the Race (New York Times)

District stances on Race to Top plans vary (Education Week)

Turning this Race into a relay (Eduflack)

Toothless Reform? (The Enterprise Blog)

CALIFORNIA
State files application (San Francisco Chronicle)

COLORADO
State files application, doesn't include new evaluation system, has union support (Denver Post)

New law will track teacher training programs grads (Denver Post)

DELAWARE
State board approves teacher evaluation changes (The News Journal)

ILLINOIS
Governor Quinn signs RttT bills (Catalyst Chicago)

Fear of winning Race? (New York Times)

IOWA
221 of 361 school districts sign on (Des Moines Register blog)

KENTUCKY
State board approves new performance measures (Louisville Courier-Journal)

MASSACHUSETTS
Governor signs RttT, ed reform bill (Boston Globe)

MICHIGAN
State application finalized (Lansing State Journal)

NEW JERSEY
Half of state's districts on board (The Star Ledger)

NEW YORK
Legislature takes no action on charter school bills (New York Times)

Bid goes forward, likely without lift of charter cap (Wall Street Journal)

Mayor Bloomberg signs off on RttT plan (New York Post)

OREGON
State application takes shape, union approved (The Oregonian)

RHODE ISLAND
Providence teachers' union sole union affiliate in state to support application (Providence Journal)

SOUTH DAKOTA
Charter school law proposed (Rapid City Argus Leader)

TENNESSEE
Student achievement will count for half of a teacher's evaluation (The Tennessean)

WISCONSIN
State submits bid (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Governor: Wisconsin 'will likely miss out' because of 'a lack of reform in Milwaukee' (Governor Doyle press release)

Editorial: Milwaukee needs a mulligan (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

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Updates on the Race: 01-14-2010

COLORADO
RttT bill is fast-tracked (Denver Post)

CONNECTICUT
75 school districts on board (New Haven Register)

ILLINOIS
Legislation revamps teacher evaluations; governor's signature expected (The State Journal-Register)

INDIANA
93% of school districts join Race (Fort Wayne Journal Gazette)

IOWA
Senate approves RttT bill (Des Moines Register)

KENTUCKY
Governor signs low-performing schools bill (Louisville Courier-Journal)

MASSACHUSETTS
School bill ready for final vote (Boston Globe)

MICHIGAN
State teacher's union won't sign onto application (The Detroit News)

MINNESOTA
Over 250 districts, charter schools on board (Star News)

NEBRASKA
Governor: State's $122 million application includes 'Virtual High School' (Omaha World-Herald)

OREGON
112 school districts on board (Statesman Journal)

PENNSYLVANIA
Requiring local school board and union sign-off (Education Week Teacher Beat)

Editorial: Flexibility should accompany call for innovation (Harrisburg Patriot-News)

RHODE ISLAND
State, teachers union still at 'loggerheads' (Providence Journal)

TENNESSEE
Teacher evaluation bill clears latest hurdle (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

TEXAS
Governor Perry plays 'local control', 'Texas first' cards; rejects Race to the Top (Dallas News)

WEST VIRGINIA
Governor will call for special session if state fails in first round (Business Week)

WISCONSIN
Mayor/gubernatorial candidate offers compromise on mayoral control (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

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Updates on the Race: 01-11-2010

Playing catch up following the holidays and the birth of our second child ... here are the major Race to the Top updates a week before round 1 applications are due on January 19th...

NATIONAL
39 States and DC to apply in round one (U.S. Department of Education)

'Race To Top' Viewed as Template for a New ESEA (Education Week)

'Race To Top' Driving Policy Action Across States (Education Week)

Two State Unions Balking at 'Race To Top' Plans (Education Week)

CALIFORNIA
Assembly passes reform bill (Sacramento Bee)

Governor signs bill to improve state eligibility in Race; opposed by teachers' unions (Los Angeles Times)

Governor seeks to ease teacher firings (Los Angeles Times)

COLORADO
Summary of state plan (INDenver Times)

FLORIDA
Unions: State RttT plan is 'fatally flawed' (Orlando Sentinel)

Editorial: Unions must not walk (Miami Herald)

Editorial: Racing to the top (Orlando Sentinel)

ILLINOIS
Editorial: State legislature to be asked to pass teacher evaluation bill (Chicago Tribune)

KENTUCKY
State to be first to adopt new national academic standards (Lexington Herald-Leader)

LOUISIANA
Less than half of school district sign onto plan (New Orleans Times Picayune)

MASSACHUSETTS
House passes reform bill, would empower superintendents (Boston Globe)

MICHIGAN
Governor Signs Reform Legislation (AP)

MEA, AFT Leaders Told Their Support Isn't Needed (The Grand Rapids Press)

89 Percent of State Schools on Board (The Detroit News)

NEVADA
Governor proposes ban on collective bargaining, repeal of data firewall law (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

NEW JERSEY
Out-going, in-coming governors complicate state application (Eduflack)

Editorial: Race to the bottom (Bergen Record)

NEW YORK
Governor presses for education reforms, including lift of charter cap (New York Times)

City wants state charter cap lifted before signing onto RttT application (Gotham Schools)

OHIO
State seeks to avoid union controversy? (Flypaper via Teacher Beat)

RHODE ISLAND
Teachers unions balking at supporting application (Providence Journal)

TENNESSEE
Teachers' unions sign onto plan to tie student test scores to teacher evaluations (The Commercial Appeal)

Governor's education bills to be consider during special legislative session (The Tennessean In Session blog)

Special session on Race to the Top begins tomorrow (Memphis Daily News)

UTAH
Plan unveiled (The Salt Lake Tribune)

WISCONSIN
State lagging in Race to the Top (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

State seeks $254 million; application won't address mayoral control in Milwaukee (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

WYOMING
State finalizes application (Casper Star-Tribune)

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Updates on the Race: 12-11-2009

NATIONAL:
New Teacher-Evaluation Systems Face Obstacles (Education Week)

ALABAMA: Governor touts charter schools (Andalusia Star-News)

CALIFORNIA:
Guvinator will 'veto' Assembly-passed RttT reform bill (San Diego Union-Tribune)

Assembly passes reform bill (Los Angeles Times)

Editorial: 'Assembly failed California's schoolchildren' (San Jose Mercury News)

COLORADO: Educator evaluation changes focus of bill, Race (Denver Post)

DELAWARE: State targeting students at risk of dropping out (The News Journal)

FLORIDA:
State is a serious contender (Eduwonk)

Op-Ed: Ed commish calls Race 'a defining moment' for Florida's schools (Miami Herald)

School districts asked to line up for Race (St. Petersburg Times)

IDAHO: Community meetings focus on RttT (KPVI-TV)

ILLINOIS: Advance Illinois advances RttT blueprint (Catalyst Chicago)

KENTUCKY: State ed dept wil lseek authority to remove superintendents, school board members in struggling districts (Kentucky.com)

LOUISIANA: Controversy surrounds state's revamped RttT proposal (The Advocate - Baton Rouge)

Stronger focus on great teachers and school leaders (New Orleans Times-Picayune)

MARYLAND:
Fordham Foundation calls state 'biggest RttT disappointment' (Flypaper)

Gates Foundation denies state RttT planning support (Baltimore Sun)

State superintendent proposes teacher quality changes (Baltimore Sun)

MICHIGAN: Legislative efforts to strengthen state position in Race on-going (MLive.com)

NEW JERSEY: Outgoing, incoming guv camps scrap over timing of application (The Star-Ledger)

OKLAHOMA: Governor's Office seeks RttT input (The Oklahoman)

TENNESSEE: Governor promotes new partnership to promote math & science (AP)

WEST VIRGINIA: State board calls for RttT reforms (The Charleston Gazette)

WISCONSIN:
State superintendent seeks greater authority to intervene in struggling schools and districts (WisPolitics.com)

Editorial: Mayoral control of city schools the right approach (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)

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Past Updates on the Race to the Top

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Updates on The Race: 11-17-2009

California: The tortoise wins?

Colorado: A road map

Maryland: Late to the starting line

Massachusetts: Reform to put a spring in its step?

Nevada: Out of the running

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Denver's Bennet Scores A Senate Seat

While Denver Public Schools Superintendent Michael Bennet may have been bypassed by Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan in the quest to be President Obama's Secretary of Education, he just received a promotion of a different sort: the United States Senate.

Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, a Democrat, today appointed Bennet to the U.S. Senate vacancy created by Obama's nomination of Sen. Ken Salazar to be his interior secretary.

Let the musical chairs continue...

Here are some snippets on Bennet from today's New York Times article on his appointment. He's not some Johnny-come-lately but is a pretty well-connected guy with a pedigree. Not sure if that will make him a good U.S. Senator or not, but he certainly appeared to have a beneficial impact on Denver Public Schools during his tenure there.

Mr. Bennet, 44, was born in India, where his father, Douglas Bennet, a diplomat, was stationed. He was raised mostly in Washington and will return there with a diverse résumé and a reputation in Colorado as a soft-spoken, analytical thinker who is not afraid to take on jobs that promised mostly headaches — specifically running the troubled Denver school system.

He took the job in 2005 after three years as chief of staff to Mayor John Hickenlooper of Denver....

He arrived at Denver City Hall in 2003, for example, after six years as a managing director for an investment firm in Denver, and before that, he had served as counsel to the deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration.

He graduated with a history degree from Wesleyan University in Connecticut — which his father led as president from 1995 to 2007 — before getting his law degree at Yale. His wife, Susan Diane Daggett, who also got her law degree from Yale, has worked as an environmental lawyer. James Bennet, his brother, is a former reporter for The New York Times and is now editor of The Atlantic magazine.

From the start as schools superintendent, Mr. Bennet did not behave like a traditional educator. He liked to ride the bus with students on the first day of class and made it a point to be the public face of the district in public meetings with parents over some of its most wrenching decisions, like school closings. But he also came armed with a weighty Rolodex full of highly placed friends to personally lobby city officials, state legislators and others for what the Denver schools needed.

Under Mr. Bennet, Denver pursued consolidation — closing some underperforming, under-populated schools — and merit-pay incentives for teachers. He overhauled the grading system to provide more information about students’ strengths or weaknesses. Student performance on standardized tests improved. Last July, for example, Denver posted the biggest increases in math and reading proficiency among the state’s largest districts.

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