Policy and Advocacy Update

Secretary Duncan and the Department of Education have announced a new Race to the Top District competition, one that is aimed squarely at the classroom level with a focus on the relationship between teachers and students.

The proposed competition offers nearly $400 million in grants and invites school districts to create plans for individualized classroom instruction aimed at closing achievement gaps and preparing each student for college and career.

The proposal offers competitive preference to applicants that form partnerships with public and private organizations to sustain their work and offer services that help meet students academic, social, and emotional needs, and enhance their ability to succeed.

Click here to learn more regarding eligibility criteria and application requirements for the grant.

Additional Highlights

The new competition asks districts “to show us how they can personalize and individualize education for a set of students in their schools,” noted U.S Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “We need to take classroom learning beyond a one-size-fits-all model and bring it into the 21^st century.”

The 2012 competition proposal will be available for public comment until June 8, and the Department of Education plans to release the application in July with an October submission deadline. Awards will be announced by the end of the year.

The size of the awards will depend on how many students are in the applicant's mix. The department anticipates giving out about 15 to 20 four-year grants, of up to $25 million each. Applicants serving 2,500 to 5,000 students can get $15 million to $20 million; those serving between 5,001 and 9,999 can get $17 million to $22 million, and those serving 10,000 students or more can get from $20 to $25 million. That's similar to the state round of Race to the Top, in which the size of the awards was based in part on population. And all applicants will have to spell out how they plan to continue their work once the money goes away.

Congress appropriated $550 million for Race to the Top this year. In addition to the district-level competition, $133 million of that money is going to another round for the states that very nearly missed getting a piece of the $500 million Early Learning Challenge Fund.

Stay tuned for more updates as details on the competition and application are released.