The U.S. Department of Education recently announced the 31 finalists for the second Race to the Top school district level competition, worth $120 million to the ultimate winners. The department expects to name up to 10 such winners by December 31, 2013. The winners will receive grants ranging from $4 million to $30 million.
There are two districts from Connecticut, New Haven and Norwalk, still in the mix. Other finalists include large urban districts such as Baltimore, Denver, and Houston, a handful of rural districts (such as a group from the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative), and at least one group of charter schools via Rocketship Education in California. The finalists were selected from a field of more than 200 applicants by a panel of three peer reviewers. The applications were screened with an eye toward districts that emphasize personalized learning.
The district level Race to the Top competition is the less publicized version of the Obama Administration’s Race to the Top competitive education grants for states announced in 2010. The state of Connecticut did not win in either round of the state version of the competition -- maybe it will be different for two of our individual districts.
