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The First State
in Education: Delaware's
Race to the Top
U.S. Secretary of
Education Arne Duncan has just announced the winners of Round One of the
federal Race to the Top grant competition, and Delaware is proud to be ONE OF
JUST TWO STATES – along with
Tennessee – that was selected! Delaware’s grant is approximately $100
million.
Vision 2015 extends
congratulations to our Governor, Secretary of Education, educators statewide,
and community and business leaders for their commitment and dedication to creating
the state's education reform plan, which informed the Race to the Top application.
This is a breakthrough
moment and a huge responsibility. In the history of federal involvement
in public education, this is the largest and most competitive grant process
ever established. The President’s aspiration for the state winners is
no less than to lead the nation in rethinking public education – and
with just two winners in Round One, the bar has been set very high.
Collectively, we will strive to educate our children to compete with the
highest performers in the world, and to create a new culture built on a
foundation of excellence and innovation. This will be a massive
challenge, yet presents an amazing opportunity. The nation will be
watching. We’re pleased that Delaware
is ready.
Within Delaware, how will
educators, students, and families benefit from the initiatives supported by Race
to the Top? Here’s just a sampling.
Some initiatives are already underway, some
will be starting fresh this fall:
· The 25-school Vision Network
will receive increased support for its intensive training program, which
focuses on using student data to improve teaching, changing school culture
through improved leadership and targeted instruction, and collaborating
across districts and charter schools to share best practices.
· Students, parents, and educators in our lowest
performing schools will have the flexibility and resources needed to
fundamentally redesign their schools.
· Curriculum and standards will become more rigorous so our students will be ready to compete with the
world’s best.
· Educators will be better able to customize their
instruction to the unique needs of every child because state tests will
be taken online and include interactive questions that gauge student
knowledge better than our current paper and pencil assessments.
· Within schools, there will be new resources
like data coaches to work one-on-one with all teachers to help build skills,
and teacher-leaders will receive additional pay for taking on
additional responsibilities.
· At the student level, there will be changes as
well. For example, the state will require and fund the SAT
for all 11th grade students, and students will get additional
supports to get ready for high school and college, such as new course
offerings in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
When we launched Vision
2015 three and a half years ago, we made a commitment: “Vision 2015:
Imagine the best schools in the world for every student in Delaware. No exceptions, no excuses.”
With congratulations to all, we are well on our way.
Read more about the winning states – Delaware
and Tennessee – here
and read Delaware’s
application here.
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