Overview of Race to the Top
What is Race to the Top?
Race to the Top is the federal government’s largest competitive grants program designed to spur innovative state‐based school reform. It was funded with $4.35 billion in federal stimulus dollars under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Of that, $4 billion was available for direct grants to states.
Why is it called a Race?
The competition was designed to reward a handful of states for forward-thinking plans to reform their state education systems and for their capacity to carry out those plans. Delaware and Tennessee were the only two states to win funding in the first round. Delaware had the highest score among the 16 first‐round finalists, which included 14 other states and the District of Columbia. Nine states and the District of Columbia won funding in Phase 2.
How is the money being used?
The grant is being used to carry out several specific public school reform initiatives outlined in Delaware’s winning application, based on four priorities identified by the U.S. Department of Education. These include:
- Adopting challenging academic standards that will prepare students for success in college and the workplace
- Increasing the number of highly effective teachers and principals, especially to serve in low‐performing schools
- Providing new resources and intensive supports to our lowest‐performing schools
- Building a data system that measures student progress during the year, enabling teachers and principals to tailor instruction to meet the unique needs of every child
Grant funds may not be used to reduce state or district deficits. Half of the $119 million grant is being allocated to local school districts and public charter schools, and half is supporting state‐level initiatives, such as a new student assessment and more useful data systems.
Funds that go directly to districts and charter schools are based on plans created by the districts/charters and approved by the state. Funding is intended not to be overly prescriptive, yet accountability goals are clear. The goal is to be “tight on ends, loose on means,” so that districts and charters have the flexibility they need to fulfill the needs of their students and educators.
What happens after the grant ends?
Race to the Top funds are designed to transform the systems that drive so much of public education. This means that once the changes are in place, either little or no additional funding will be needed to sustain them. If additional funding is needed, funds will be raised or money may be reallocated from existing sources after Race to the Top funding ends.
Watch this Content Delaware video to learn more about Race to the Top.