The $4.35 billion Race to the Top fund is the largest competitive grant program for education in President Obama’s economic stimulus package andprovides an opportunity for a handful of states to earn funding to implement innovative, ambitious education improvements.

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has made it clear that, to be competitive, states will have to demonstrate significant progress toward four key areas, including the adoption of rigorous standards and better assessments that prepare students for success in college and the workforce. In fact, $350 million has been dedicated to helping states collaboratively develop challenging academic standards and meaningful "growth-oriented" assessments. States with innovat ive testing practices—which will soon be in place in Delaware—that enable students to meet high shared standards are more likely to receive money. Read more from the USDOE on this priority.

Last month, the Delaware General Assembly passed Senate Bill 68 enabling the Delaware DOE to implement a new assessment system based on the recommendations of Vision 2015 and those issued in 2006 by a legislative Task Force. The DOE is currently reviewing proposals from potential contractors, and a new system is expected to be in place by fall 2010. Learn more about the proposed new system in a Community News Q&A with Nancy Doorey, former State Board of Education member and Assessment Task Force parent representative.

Did You Know?

Delaware is one of 46 states that have joined forces to create common academic standards in math and English language arts through an effort led by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. Through its participation in this Common Core Standards Initiative, Delaware has committed that by 2013 these common standards will represent at least 85 percent of our state standards. This collaborative approach will help Delaware save money and more easily benchmark our progress to other states.

Legislative Wrap-Up

The Delaware General Assembly officially ended the first term of the 145^th Session on June 30. In addition to SB 68 and the Race to the Top resolution mentioned above, the General Assembly passed several legislative initiatives related to education:

• House Substitute 1 to House Bill 119: Legislation that aims to provide more regulatory and financial flexibility to local school districts and establish better transparency, financial oversight, and accountability tools. Yet the bill didn’t go far enough. In the coming years, we look forward to supporting school districts and the DOE to provide more funding discretion and enable innovation.

• Senate Bill 151: Vision 2015 recommends providing "bonuses for schools that meet or exceed agreed-upon goals for improvements in student achievement," which is intention of this bill. Yet Vision 2015 also recommends "incentives to attract teachers to high-need subjects and to low-performing, high-need schools." We look forward to working with policymakers to design ways to provide individual incentives to attract more great teachers and those in high-needs schools and subject areas (like math and science).

• Senate Concurrent Resolution 19: Supports 150 minutes of weekly physical activity/physical education for Delaware public school students and expresses the support of the legislature to help make Delaware's children the healthiest in the nation. Both Nemours Health and Prevention Services, which encouraged support for the resolution, and Vision 2015 are committed to healthy and successful lives for Delaware children. Click here to read more about the strong link between student health and academic achievement.

Read an article on the General Assembly's final budget decisions and how they impact education.

VISION-aries

"The only question is whether we have the political courage – the will to make the tough choices that are right for kids. At the end of the day, this comes down to leadership – partly in Washington – but mostly in state capitals all across America."

- United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan at the 2009 Governors Education Symposium, (6/14/09), on his expectations of states that will win Race to the Top funds.

Delaware Leads Multi-State Effort to Improve Student Tests 

Delaware’s educational leadership in student assessment is apparent in a new 20-state project led by Delaware Education Secretary Lillian Lowery. The project will create an “Item Bank Collaborative” expected to change the student assessment landscape across the country. Most states spend several million dollars each year on test question development, so sharing existing quality questions will reduce costs immediately, enable national comparisons, and create a system through which states can continually upgrade their assessments.

This project reflects several Vision 2015 recommendations, including high academic standards that are benchmarked internationally, a “growth model” assessment system that measures individual student progress, and the efficient use of taxpayers' dollars. 

The project has financial backing from the NewSchools Venture Fund, and collaborative partners in Delaware include DOE, the Delaware Student Growth Partnership, the Delaware Chief School Officers, and the Rodel Foundation.

Read more. 

Policy & Practice Institute Highlights Key Education Reforms

On June 24, the University of Delaware's Academy for School Leadership (DASL), in conjunction with the Delaware DOE, convened the 7th Annual Policy and Practice Institute in Dover. The forum—attended by over 300 educators and supporters—focused on school leadership and other opportunities for an improved school system.

Delaware Secretary of Education Lillian Lowery began the day with an update on Delaware’s education initiatives. Dr. Thomas Payzant, former Superintendent of Schools in Boston, delivered a keynote address. Payzant focused on strategies for turning successful individual schools into district-wide models of excellence.

His remarks align directly with Vision 2015’s core goal of transforming Delaware’s pockets of educational excellence into a world-class system for every student in every school. The Vision 2015 plan includes recommendations to achieve this, including academic standards as challenging as the world's best, rewards for teachers and schools that demonstrate student achievement results, increased financial discretion at the school level, and assessments that measure individual student gains over time.

Spotlight: Vision Network Schools Lead the Way in Assessing Student Performance

Through stimulus funding, the federal government will reward states for providing high-quality assessments--an area in which Delaware has shown national leadership. And, within the Vision Network many schools already are excelling. For example, MOT Charter School recently received a Vision Network grant to implement a rigorous writing assessment program called “Write to Learn.”

MOT Charter School has been a Vision Network school since 2007, and through Network training its leaders examined school data and identified writing as an area in most need of improvement. To address this need, they developed Write to Learn, a comprehensive online tool that develops writing skills and improves reading comprehension. After students complete essays, Write to Learn provides them with instant feedback on content and grammar. Teachers can use this information to focus on areas where students need additional attention, rather than spend as much time administering tests. Immediate, easy-to-understand and detailed feedback allows students to eliminate bad habits and become better writers.

Vision Network schools are leading the way by taking action to ensure their students are meeting world-class standards. This is the sort of achievement-oriented change that will keep Delaware schools at the cutting edge of improvement, and will help position the state for competitive funding from Washington.

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