North Carolina Is A Finalist For Federal Education Money
North Carolina is one of 15 finalists, along with the District of Columbia, to receive a cut of $4 billion for education funding, the U.S. Department of Education will announce today.
The award program, called Race to the Top, was offered last summer by President Barack Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan as part of the federal stimulus act, reports Barbara Barrett.
The grants award innovation around four areas: recruiting and developing teachers, turning around struggling schools, preparing pupils for a global economy and building computer programs to track students’ progress.
In its application filed Jan. 14, North Carolina said it outlined these goals in 2007. Among the local districts participating in the Race to the Top challenge are Wake and Mecklenburg counties. The state plans to graduate 80 percent of high school freshmen by the 2013-14 school year, and send 70 percent of its graduates to college.
Gov. Bev Perdue welcomed the news, but said the state has more work to do.
"I’ll be travelling to D.C. later this month to speak to Secretary Duncan and the selection committee and tell them why North Carolina needs – and deserves – the Race to the Top funds," she said. "Thank you to all of the educators, state and community leaders and others who have supported these efforts."
The other finalists, as reported this morning by Education Week, are Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
The final awards will be announced in April. Another round of funding will come later for states who didn’t make the final cut.
U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, who wrote a letter in support of the state’s application, praised its selection as finalist.
"Our teachers and administrators are among the best in the country, and they are 100 percent behind this Race to the Top initiative," she said in a prepared statement. "I am continuing to help push North Carolina’s effort to secure this funding."
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Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, Google Maps
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