The U.S. Department of Education passed over California’s largest school districts in selecting finalists for the Race to the Top district competition. Out of 17 districts that applied for a share of the nearly $400 million in federal grant money, only four made the cut to the finals: Galt Joint Union Elementary, Lindsay Unified and New Haven Unified school districts, along with Ánimo Charter Schools, a division of Green Dot Public Schools. Districts that didn’t make the cut include Los Angeles, Fresno and San Diego, which, combined, educate 15 percent of California’s students.
California’s finalists will still be competing against huge urban districts, however. Included among the 61 finalists from around the country are New York City (the nation’s largest school district),Philadelphia, Dallas and Miami-Dade.
Under this latest incarnation of the popular Race to the Top program, winning districts will receive between $5 million and $40 million over four years to implement model programs designed to close achievement gaps, improve teaching and boost student learning and achievement by