From the outbox of Meyer’s video inbox:
Buried deep within the recesses of the stimulus bill was a bundle of money set aside for education but there was a catch. In order for states to win this extra funding they needed to raise the bar then jump over it when it comes to the standards in their schools. This was a two pronged approach of improving student’s test scores while getting rid of failing teachers. No one has been immune in this approach. There was one school up in Rhode Island that fired all 88 of its teachers. Yikes! As for the bonus bucks, only two states qualified so far… let’s up the others race to the top and fast.
DELAWARE, TENNESSE WIN ‘RACE TO THE TOP’ EDUCATION FUNDING by David Wright and Mary Bruce reporting for ABC News
In an effort to improve America’s public schools, the Obama administration has dangled the ultimate carrot — money. More than $4 billion of stimulus package money was offered through the U.S. Education Department’s “Race to the Top” grant program.
Of 41 states that applied, only two — Delaware and Tennessee — got a passing grade today. They will receive $600 million total, while the other 39 states will get nothing for now.
“This is about systemic reform really driving change at a state-level and these two states did a spectacular job of that,” said Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
The final number came as a surprise to many — the Education Department originally suggested that as many as 10 of the original 41 applicants could ultimately win.
States were judged on their past success at education reform, as well as their plans to embrace common academic standards, improve teacher quality, create educational data systems, and turn around their lowest-performing schools.
Check out the video story here.
