"Race to the Top" 4.3 Billion Dollars for Schools

Many of you have heard of President Obama's Education Secretary, Arne Duncan. Some of you have also heard about a program called "Race to the Top" where states can apply for grants of millions of dollars to help public ed. A total of 4.3 billion is available but there are some strings attached. To read more about this program, google David Brooks, NY Times columnist, and read the "Quiet Revolution" in the op ed page today. Many of the reforms that the program requires are controversial. They include using student test scores to evaluate and give pay increases to teachers. Also, states which have limited or capped the number of charter schools would not get the money. Many states are in the process of changing their laws to accomodate these grants. It will be interesting to see what is included in Utah's grant request. I hope we, as professionals, are open to look at certain reforms without giving away our basic principles. I don't think we want our teachers' association to be considered opposed to all reforms, but we must be careful. Keep monitoring this situation. Rick