Louisiana Finalist for ‘Race to the Top’ Funding (LA)

July 30, 2010

The 28 Louisiana school systems that chose to participate in the state’s application for federal "Race to the Top" funding could learn by early September whether they will receive a piece of $3.4 billion.

Louisiana was named a finalist this week for funding with 18 states and the District of Columbia. The state is seeking $175 million over four years to implement plans to improve public schools.

"We are very pleased to be among the finalists," said state Superintendent of Education Paul Pastorek. "Since March, our team has worked with the governor’s office, the education community and policy makers to improve our application substantively.

"In doing so, Louisiana can make a more compelling case for our reform strategy and increase the odds of securing additional resources to support our students, schools and districts," he said. "But even more importantly, the policy changes we’ve made are of tremendous value to our state as we work to transform public education for the children of Louisiana."

The state’s application was one of 19 chosen from a field of 36 applicants. Pastorek and a selected group of the plan’s supporters will present oral arguments during the week of Aug. 9 to a national panel of judges that’s weighing the proposals for using the money. A few finalists are interviewed each day.

Current performance and laws also are factors, Pastorek said, so the Legislature’s approval of a new "value-added" assessment of teachers’ abilities based on student performance boosted the strength of the state’s application.

The finalists are Arizona, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and South Carolina.

All scored above 400 points on a 500-point grading scale. Arizona was a surprise finalist since its original application was ranked 40th.

Gov. Bobby Jindal said Louisiana being named a finalist "is further evidence that we are on track in our efforts to implement aggressive reform strategies to improve our schools."

He complimented the Legislature’s approval of "several transformational new laws to advance education reform, including the assignment of school and district letter grades to more clearly communicate performance, stronger teacher evaluations based in part on growth in student achievement, and an i nnovative waiver program that allows school districts to cut through red tape that hinders academic growth.

"It’s clear that Louisiana is making significant progress to provide a better education for our children, and this funding would allow us to intensify our current efforts," he said.

The state also was a finalist in the first round of funding but lost out when only two states — Delaware and Tennessee — were chosen.

U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan has estimated that as many as 10 to 15 winners could share funding but it depends on which states are chosen. California and Florida are requesting huge sums.

Funding recipients are to be named in late August or early September.

Louisiana’s application includes 28 of the 69 school districts in the state, which includes the Recovery School District.

Included are participating in Louisiana’s Race to the Top application are: Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, city of Baker, city of Bogalusa, city of Monroe, DeSoto, East Baton Rouge, East Carroll, East Feliciana, Iberville, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lafourche, Madison, Orleans, Recovery School District, Richland, Sabine, St. Bernard, St. Helena, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Landry, St. Mary, Tangipahoa Parish, Terrebonne, Vernon and West Baton Rouge.