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ARRA - Race To The Top Fund
Competitive grants to
encourage and reward States that are creating the
conditions for education innovation and reform;
implementing ambitious plans in the four education
reform areas described in the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA); and
achieving significant improvement in student outcomes,
including 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.
On January 12, the Duval
County Public Schools, the Duval County School Board and
Duval Teachers United signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) and Addendum to be a “Participating
District” in the Florida Department of Education’s
(FLDOE) bid for a share of the $4.35 billion Race to the
Top (RT3) grant. The State of Florida did
not receive funding during Phase I of grant awards.
However, FLDOE continued pursuit of these funds and
submitted a revised application during the Phase II
application process in June 2010. Duval County
again agreed to be a “Participating District” in the
States bid for funding. Although not due from
“Participating Districts” until 90 days after the State
is awarded the RT3 grant, DCPS now begins the task of
developing the work plan that will lay out how we will
implement the various requirements included in the
State’s application over the four year life of the
grant.
FLDOE’s MOU and application
include requirements covering the four areas of
education reform that the Federal Department of
Education (DOE) has laser-like focus on currently and
other criteria the DOE believes will make a State more
successful in achieving the overall purpose of the
grant:
- Standards
and Assessments (70
points)
- Data
Systems to Support Instruction
(47 points)
- Great
Teachers and Leaders
(138 points)
- Turning
Around the Lowest-Achieving Schools
(50 points)
- State
Success Factors (125
points)
- General
Selection Criteria (55
points)
The application also includes
items designed to garner Florida most (if not all) of
the 15 “all or nothing” Competitive Preference
Priority points that will be given to proposals that
have an emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering
and Mathematics (STEM) related activities and
initiatives.
Current Status:
Florida, along with nine other states, awarded Phase
II grant funding; Working groups, which have been in
place since FLDOE’s Phase I grant application, are
finalizing district initiatives related to the grant
reform areas of focus:
Upcoming Deadline:
- Year 1, Quarter 3 reporting by end
of April 2011
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