Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Race2Top: [INLAND EMPIRE] LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS WARY OF 'RACE TO THE TOP' INITIATIVE

 

School districts that want to be part of the federal grant program must join the state's application, but the details of how to do so have been slow in coming and have made some local educators hesitant about participating.

12/14/2009 06:07:38 PM PST | Canan Tasci in the Inland Valley Bulletin reports:

Time is running out for California schools to participate in the state's application for federal funding in the Race to the Top initiative.

School districts that want to be part of the federal grant program must join the state's application, but the details of how to do so have been slow in coming and have made some local educators hesitant about participating.

The federal government is making $4.35 billion available to school districts, the single largest pool of discretionary funding for education reform in U.S. history.

The problem for California districts is that the Legislature has spent so much time debating the issue that it has not yet approved the necessary steps to make the state eligible to participate.

"The state is asking us to be a collaborate partner, and it's difficult for us to be put out there to be part of the process when we don't know what the requirements are, how much time and manpower will need to be committed, and how the district is going to be held accountable," said Jill Hammond, Ontario-Montclair School District's assistant superintendent of learning support services.

"Those rules have not been published yet."

Full story here

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