D.C., Md. win $325 million in education grants
The surprising double victory for the Washington region in the Race to the Top contest might affect fall elections.
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Race to Top win a big score for Fenty-Rhee camp
The District hit pay dirt today, scoring a win in the second-round of the Race to the Top grant competition. It means $75 million for DCPS and 34 public charter schools to invest in turning around failing schools, toughening teacher evaluations to include test score growth, and building data systems to drive instructional and personnel decisions.
The largesse clearly lands at an opportune time for Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D), who can now include a RTTT win as part of his campaign narrative about an improved public school system. If any doubt remained about where the Obama Administration's sympathies are in the District primary, they were eliminated at a morning photo op that preceded the official RTTT announcement by the Department of Education. Education Secretary Arne Duncan started his day with Fenty and Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee, leading a walk of children from Lincoln Park to Maury Elementary on Capital Hill to tout a federal initiative promoting safe routes to school.
While Duncan has participated in a number of District school events, the timing of this morning's walk gave it the unmistakable feel of a Fent
