Minnesota to join 'Race to the Top'

The state of Minnesota plans to apply for some of the $4.35 billion in federal “Race to the Top” funds aimed at boosting school innovation and reform.

It’s still unknown how the money would be used in Minnesota. However, in proposed grant criteria released this month, the U.S. Department of Education is focusing on some controversial “reforms,” including alternative teacher licensure and the use of student achievement data to rate, pay and grant tenure to individual educators.

Timelines include the following:

August: public comment period
October: Race to the Top guidelines finalized
December: First round of grant applications due
Next spring: Second round of applications

The grant process is expected to be highly competitive, with perhaps as few as six winners in the first round. At least 50 percent of the money received must be awarded to local school districts.

Education Minnesota and educators unions in other states are working with the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers to draft comments.

States have to meet only two “absolute” conditions to be considered for Race to the Top grants:

Federal approval for stabilization funds under the stimulus plan.
The absence of legal barriers to linking student achievement data to individual educators for evaluation purposes.

In addition, 19 proposed “selection criteria” would be used to judge applications. Among them are:

Participation in the nationwide movement for common academic standards
Use of data to improve instruction
Alternative paths to teacher licensure
Use of student growth measures in rating teachers’ “effectiveness” and deciding pay, tenure and dismissal
Support for charter schools, including no caps on the number of charters
Efforts to turn around struggling schools
Support from education stakeholders, including state and local teachers unions

Deputy Education Commissioner Chas Anderson said Minnesota plans to apply for the first round of grants. She said the state is well-positioned because of its existing initiatives, such as Q Comp and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), and the fact that the state has signed on to the common-standards effort. The Gates Foundation will assist with the application.

August 14, 2009