Schools Seek Federal Funding
January 13, 2010
Nine local school districts have signed on to the state’s application for Race to the Top, an education reform grant that Oregon is seeking from the federal economic stimulus package.
They’re among 112 school districts in Oregon that agreed to implement reform initiatives — that range from developing a statewide education data portal to turning around the lowest-performing 5 percent of schools — if the state receives funding.
Salem-Keizer School District was among the first to sign on to the grant application. So did Amity, Dallas, Falls City, Jefferson, North Marion, North Santiam, Perrydale and Santiam Canyon school districts.
If approved, districts agreed to implement enhanced benchmarks and assessments; work to improve low-performing schools; create a statewide data system that supports student learning; and reform teacher and administrator evaluations and pay, and focus on training to support effective teachers and principals.
"We think we have a pretty compelling story to tell," said Jake Weigler of the Oregon Department of Education. "We also think that we’re the type of state that the Obama administration is looking to highlight."
The state department of education will submit th e application Jan. 19. The first round of grant winners are expected to be announced in mid-April, he said.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allocated $4.35 billion for Race to the Top, a national competition that has been called the centerpiece of the Obama administration’s education reform efforts.
Oregon could receive as much as $200 million, Weigler said.
The state plans to distribute half of the grant money to school districts based on a federal formula, and half the state will use at its discretion.
The state’s application provides a framework for school districts, but is flexible in what reform might look like for each participating school district. Among the most controversial is how teacher compensation and evaluation may be reformed, a key component of the grant requirements.