Wisconsin NOT Included in Race-To-The-Top / Keep Running To Improve WI Schools!

Keep running to improve Wisconsin Schools
A Wisconsin State Journal editorial | Posted: Tuesday, July 27, 2010 10:00 pm|

Education Secretary Arne Duncan announces finalists in the second round of the federal “Race to the Top” competition. Wisconsin didn’t make the list but must continue to hustle to improve.
DREW ANGERER — Associated Press

Wisconsin just lost another race to improve its public schools.

It's disappointing.

Yet our state still needs to keep running — even if there's no longer a pot of federal money at the finish line.

The future of so many struggling Wisconsin students, especially in Milwaukee, depends on it.

U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan on Tuesday announced 18 states and Washington, D.C., as finalists in the national competition for billions of dollars in federal school innovation grants. Illinois and Ohio were the only Midwestern states to advance in the second round of Duncan and President Barack Obama's "Race to the Top" initiative.

It wasn't surprising that Wisconsin fell out of contention so early in its latest bid for $254 million in federal grants, including $8 million for Madison. Wisconsin previously missed being on the list of finalists in the first round of "Race to the Top" grants. And the Legislature had failed to show federal officials that Wisconsin was serious about shaking up Milwaukee's failing public schools.


Regardless, this is no time to stop hustling to improve our schools. Obama's competitive grant contest won't deliver any money for innovation here, but it did prompt the state to start improving its evaluation system for principals and teachers.

The Legislature also has given state Superintendent of Schools Tony Evers some limited power to force change in Milwaukee. Evers can demand more continuity in Milwaukee's school curriculum and require more help for struggling students.

In addition, a new state law makes it easier to remove principals from poor-performing Milwaukee schools.

Evers told the State Journal editorial board on Tuesday he's optimistic his new powers can make a difference. We urge Evers to aggressively use what new powers he has.

Plans for a public boarding school for Milwaukee students on the verge of dropping out is another positive development. It will be a charter school with more freedom to try new ways of motivating at-risk teens.

Wisconsin needs to pick up its pace on transforming public education across the state. The most important race isn't for federal dollars. It's the race to save more Wisconsin students from dropping out into a lifelong rut of poverty and social problems.

Posted in Editorial on Tuesday, July 27, 2010 10:00 pm Updated: 10:06 pm. Editorial, Race To The Top, Schools, Arne Duncan, Department Of Education, Barack Obama, Milwaukee School District, Tony Evers, Public School


Wisconsin not included among Race to the Top grant finalists
By CLAY BARBOUR | cbarbour@madison.com | 608-235-1090 | Posted: Tuesday, July 27, 2010 6:00 pm |

Education Secretary Arne Duncan speaks about the federal "Race to the Top" school reform grant competition, Tuesday, July 27, 2010, at the National Press Club in Washington. Wisconsin was not included.
Drew Angerer


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Related: Wis. not named in 2nd round of education grants
For the second time this year, Wisconsin has lost out on a share of billions in federal aid for schools.

The U.S. Department of Education announced Tuesday the 19 finalists — mostly southern and eastern states — in the second round of the "Race to the Top" school reform grant competition, which gives participants a chance to win a share of $3.4 billion.

"It's hard to know how the applications were scored, but it's pretty clear that the quality of a state's education system was not taken into account," said Gov. Jim Doyle, who also noted that no state in the upper Midwest reached the finals in either round.

Thirty-five states and the District of Columbia applied for the second round. A total of 46 states and the District of Columbia applied for either the first or second rounds — or both.

Applicants' scores and reviews are kept confidential until after the winners are announced, but disappointed education officials praised the state's efforts Tuesday and were optimistic about what the process has meant to the state.

"Just by being among the 36 applicants for funding we laid the groundwork for major change in public education for the students, educators, parents, and citizens of Wisconsin," said State Superintendent Tony Evers.

Wisconsin failed to reach the finals of the first round in March, missing out then on a share of $4 billion in federal aid. The state was seeking $254 million, including $8 million for Madison.

The state's application, submitted in January, focused on early childhood development, addressing the achievement drop-off between middle and high schools, and developing good teachers and principals.

According to the Education Department, Wisconsin's first-round bid ranked 26th out of 41. One reviewer said the state's application "fared poorly in securing signatures (of support) from local teacher union leaders" and the state earned a "mixed rating for improving student outcomes."

The winners of that round were Delaware, which won almost $100 million, and Tennessee, which won $500 million.

For the second round, Wisconsin was asking for $250 million, at least $4 million of which was for Madison. The application outlined a plan for improving education that included:

• Raising education standards by leading a consortium of 47 states in developing performance benchmarks.

• Changing the state's testing process to provide more meaningful information to teachers and parents.

• Increasing support for teachers through mentoring for new teachers and coaching for struggling teachers.

Doyle said Tuesday that education reforms passed last year strengthened Wisconsin's education system, provided more authority for administrators to turn around failing schools in Milwaukee and instituted a system for placing top-level teachers and principals in schools that need the most help.

"It is important that we follow through on the reforms we made together with or without Race to the Top funding because they are a real benefit to our students," he said.

Last fall, the state removed the prohibition on using student achievement to evaluate teachers and began work on new methods for measuring student growth and success, as well as evaluating the success of education programs.

"That was a step in the right direction, but not a big step," said Allan Odden, a Race to the Top expert with UW-Madison's Wisconsin Center for Education Research. "Other states went farther than we did and that's ultimately why we rated lower."

Odden said Race to the Top is designed to promote major overhauls of education systems and that most education officials in the Midwest simply feel their systems need minor fixes.

But State Rep. Brett Davis, R-Oregon, the ranking Republican on the state's education committee, said he wasn't surprised to learn the state didn't make the cut.

He said Assembly and Senate Democrats rammed through weak legislation in an effort to bring the state in line with Race to the Top guidelines.

"All session long, education reform ideas offered by Republicans were not even considered or were voted down," he said, referring to proposals that would have directly linked test scores to teacher evaluations and strengthened efforts to discipline poor-performing teachers. "Clearly the lobbying efforts by WEAC, which were top in the state in 2009, paid off and will keep the status quo."

Wisconsin's application had the support of more than 80 percent of local teacher union leaders and more than 96 percent of the state's school districts and charter schools.

"It was a very collaborative effort," said Mary Bell, president of Wisconsin Education Association Council, the state's largest teachers union. "Educators across the state are disappointed. But the reforms in the application are sound reforms. We will move forward on them, it just might take more time without the federal funding."