At least three districts in the Kansas City-metropolitan area have expressed their intention to apply for the latest round on funding through the United States Department of Education Race to the Top program.
Those three are:
- Blue Springs R-IV School District
- Hickman Mills Prevention Coalition
- KS City #33
In addition, a “District not Disclosed” has applied.
Currently Hickman Mills is provisionally certified, and the Kansas City, Missouri School District is not certified by the State of Missouri. The Blue Springs R-IV district is fully certified.
Hundreds of districts nationwide are applying to compete for a portion of $120 million in federal funding being made available to districts.
According to the Department of Education website:
The Race to the Top-District competition invites applicants to demonstrate how they can personalize education for all students in their schools. The Race to the Top-District competition is aimed squarely at classrooms and the all-important relationship between educators and students. An LEA [local education agency] or consortia of LEAs receiving an award under this competition will build on the lessons learned from and the progress of States and districts in implementing reforms in the four core educational assurance areas through Race to the Top and other key programs. A successful applicant will provide teachers the information, tools, and supports that enable them to meet the needs of each student and substantially accelerate and deepen each student’s learning. These LEAs will have the policies, systems, infrastructure, capacity, and culture to enable teachers, teacher teams, and school leaders to continuously focus on improving individual student achievement and closing achievement gaps. These LEAs will also make equity and access a priority and aim to prepare each student to master the content and skills required for college- and career-readiness, provide each student the opportunity to pursue a rigorous course of study, and accelerate and deepen students’ learning through attention to their individual needs. As important, they will create opportunities for students to identify and pursue areas of personal academic interest—all while ensuring that each student masters critical areas identified in college- and career-ready standards or college- and career-ready high school graduation requirements.
Award winners are supposed to be announced in December.
For more information:
http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-district/index.html
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/District_Dossier/2013/08/hundreds_of_districts_signal_i.html?cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2
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