Individual school districts will play a significant role in determining whether Tennessee and Georgia receive a portion of the $4 billion Race to the Top federal funds.
The money is part of the $100 billion of stimulus money set aside for education, and will be awarded competitively to states that show dedication to reform.
The original application guidelines were announced in July, and were revised after more than 1,000 educators weighed in with suggestions. The final application shows a shift in focus from the state level, putting more responsibility on school systems.
“States don’t teach students to read, districts do. We’re absolutely looking at collaboration and buy-in,” U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan told the Times Free Press during a teleconference. “If change is just on paper or at a policy level, that’s absoltely not what we’re looking for.”
Kelli Gauthier covers K-12 education in Hamilton County for the Times Free Press. She started at the paper as an intern in 2006, crisscrossing the region writing feature stories from Pikeville, Tenn., to Lafayette, Ga. She also covered crime and courts before taking over the education beat in 2007. A native of Frederick, Md., Kelli came south to attend Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in print journalism. Before newspapers, ...
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