The so-called Race to the Top is up and running and approaching the home stretch.  We will be covering it in more detail here on Mid-Riffs in the coming days, but here are the preliminary guidelines:

WHAT? The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Race to the Top

HOW MUCH? About $4 Billion (with a B!) total to be awarded in two phases

HOW MUCH for us? The Feds have listed some non-binding guidelines to help states develop budgets — Arkansas should apply for somewhere between $60-$175 million

WHEN? Phase 1 applications due from states on January 19 (next week!); Phase 1 winners will be announced in April.  (Phase 2 apps due in June; winners announced in Spetember)

WHY? In addition to providing an economic stimulus, these funds are intended to encourage state departments of education (and hopefully our ADE) to engage in some out-of-the-box (jargon alert!) thinking and some ambitious reforms.  According to the federal website, the purpose of the Race to the Top (RTTP) is:

Through Race to the Top, we are asking States to advance reforms around four specific areas:

• Adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace and to compete in the global economy;
• Building data systems that measure student growth and success, and inform teachers and principals about how they can improve instruction;
• Recruiting, developing, rewarding, and retaining effective teachers and principals, especially where they are needed most; and
• Turning around our lowest-achieving schools.

Awards in Race to the Top will go to States that are leading the way with ambitious yet achievable plans for implementing coherent, compelling, and comprehensive education reform. Race to the Top winners will help trail-blaze effective reforms and provide examples for States and local school districts throughout the country to follow as they too are hard at work on reforms that can transform our schools for decades to come.

HOW ABOUT US?

Arkansas Commissioner Tom Kimbrell sent this 19-page memo to Arkansas Superintendents last week to encourage participation in the Arkansas application.  From our quick read, the memo asks the Sup’s to pledge allegiance to the general stated principles of the RTTP (data are good, find effective teachers, etc..) and does not ask for much in the way of specific reforms or plans.

However, we will read more carefully and study this more in the days to come.  We will also look at what some other states are doing to see if we seem to be in a good competitive position.  According to his memo, Commissioner Kimbrell expects fewer than 5 states to be funded in this first phase, so it may take something extraordinary to bring these resources home to the Natural State.  Stay tuned!