The U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced plans to award more than a dozen districts (or consortia of districts) up to $25 million in exchange for reforms consistent with Administration’s agenda under a new Race to the Top (RTTT) program initiative. Unlike the previous grant competitions that awarded states funds, individual school districts or consortia of districts will be the awardees. The announcement for the district competition comes shortly after the Department released the names of states awarded grants for the early childhood focus on RTTT funds.
Under the rules, school districts or Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) and Education Service Agencies (ESAs), which include charter schools in some states, will be able to apply on their own or in a consortium with neighboring districts (including those in other states). The districts individually or collectively must be comprised of at least 40 percent of students who qualify for free or reduced-price school lunch, and serve a minimum of 2,500 students.
Similar to the state-based RTTT competitions, applicants must demonstrate a track record of commitment to the core education assurance areas of the program, which include:
- Adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace and to compete in the global economy;
- Building data systems that measure student growth and success, and inform teachers and principals about how they can improve instruction;
- Recruiting, developing, rewarding, and retaining effective teachers and principals, especially where they are needed most; and
- Turning around the lowest-achieving schools.
As a part of this commitment, districts must plan on the following activities (among others):
- Conduct teacher and principal evaluations no later than the 2014-15 school year;
- Conduct a district superintendent evaluation no later than the 2014-15 school year;
- Conduct a local school board evaluation;
- Devise a district data system that will include an individual teacher identifier with a teacher-student match;
- Match student-level P-12 and higher education data; and
- Secure the buy-in of cities, towns, mayors, local unions, school boards, and district leadership.
According to the competition guidelines (and previous definitions in RTTT), a principal evaluation system (1) will be used for continual improvement of instruction; (2) meaningfully differentiates performance using at least three performance levels; (3) uses multiple valid measures in determining performance levels, including as a significant factor data on student growth(as defined in this document) for all students (including English learners and students with disabilities), and other measures of professional practice (which may be gathered through multiple formats and sources, such as observations based on rigorous leadership performance standards, teacher evaluation data, and student and parent surveys); (4) evaluates principals on a regular basis; (5) provides clear, timely, and useful feedback, including feedback that identifies needs for and guides professional development; and (6) will be used to inform personnel decisions.
Applications will be peer reviewed based on several other criteria, such as vision, district capacity, consistency with college- and career-ready standards, and sustainability.
Read more about the grant requirements and tell us what you think. ED will accept public comments until Friday, June 8, which will allow for criteria changes before applications are made available.
NAESP wants to know what you think about this competition for district-level RTTT. Does your district have the wherewithal to apply? Will this grant improve your district systems? Would you support your district's application to use this program and want to be a part of the process?
Tell us your thoughts and we will work to ensure that the principal’s voice is heard. Submit all comments, questions and any feedback to advocacy@naesp.org by Friday, June 1.