As states compete for $5 million in school reform grant money, President Barack Obama is using the Race to the Top Fund” as bait to persuade states to rewrite education laws and to work effectively with unions to create change within schools.
The “Race to the Top Fund” is a program that provides competitive grants to states in an effort to encourage and reward them for creating conditions for education innovation and reform. These conditions are described in the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009” and they include: making substantial gains in student achievement, closing achievement gaps, improving high school graduation rates, and ensuring that students are prepared for success in college and careers.
Obama visited Wisconsin November 4, 2009, a day before Wisconsin lawmakers get ready to vote to lift a ban on using student test scores to judge teacher performance. States such as Wisconsin are ready to change laws to increase their chances of receiving a piece of the $5 million in school reform grant money. Nine other states have taken a similar approach in order to be in the running for the grant money.
Read more and for more information about the “Race to the Top Fund,” visit: http://www.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/index.html.
