Manitowoc School District Willing to Race to the Top
January 4, 2010
The Manitowoc School District will support Wisconsin’s application for the federal Race to the Top program, said district Superintendent Mark Swanson, despite administrators’ desire to get more details about what the program would require.
The one-time program will split $4.35 billion among states with "ambitious, yet achievable" plans for education reforms, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
Gov. Jim Doyle signed several education reform bills in November to position Wisconsin to compete.
The Manitowoc district could be eligible for about $615,000 should Wisconsin receive its maximum funding, which it would have to spend within four years. Wisconsin is eligible for $150 million to $250 million.
Districts that want to be considered must sign a Memorandum of Understanding of the state’s plan, which preliminarily divvi es up the funds and defines some standards districts would have to meet.
If Wisconsin is named a recipient in April, districts that initially signed on would have 90 days to create work plans or decide whether to participate; districts that didn’t sign the memorandum aren’t eligible.
Swanson and Marcia Flaherty, the district’s director of elementary and secondary education, said they have many questions about the terms of accepting Race to the Top money, as well as how beneficial the program would be to the Manitowoc district.
The memorandum includes points about gearing curriculum toward national standards, reforming data systems for tracking student progress, implementing teacher mentoring, using student growth to evaluate teachers and expanding efforts for science, technology, engineering and math education, among others.
The level of autonomy districts would have is vague, Flaherty said. She said she anticipates learning whether districts will be required to implement only certain measures, or if there might be a "menu" of options to choose from.
The cost of meeting the standards would be a factor when deciding whether to participate, Swanson said. For example, the memorandum mentions providing reading and math coaches in each school.