Competition for "Race to the Top Funds" Puts Focus on Improving Schools for Kids
August 20, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Bill Lucia - 916/233-8508
Steve O'Mara - 415/250-6876
(Sacramento, CA)- EdVoice applauds the Governor's resolve to drive reform to make California eligible for new federal "Race to the Top" dollars. More importantly, beyond the ability to compete for new funding, the Governor's package takes commonsense steps to improve public schools for all California kids.
"EdVoice strongly supports the Governor in his work to make California competitive for the possibility of half a BILLION dollars in federal funding. The reform structure he outlined will improve the academic performance of all our kids," explained EdVoice CEO and State Board of Education Member Rae Belisle.
"In these tough economic times, we just can't afford to leave money on the table that could go to our children's classrooms," continued Belisle. "But most importantly, what the Governor is proposing is rooted in core pillars of result-proven reform. It's icing on the cake that we could potentially bring in hundreds of millions of new dollars simply by doing what we know is best for our kids."
The Governor's proposal is rooted in commonsense change. Notably, the plan highlights expanding public school choice, particularly for kids in our lowest-performing schools. "Parents, not ZIP codes should determine where their kids go to school. This is most critical in disadvantaged communities where too often children are locked into the same schools that have failed their families for decades," said Belisle.
Another core component of the Governor's plan is a firm resolve to turn around California's lowest performing schools. "Some schools do fail and there has to be a point that everyone resolves to turn them around - no more discussion," explained Belisle. "And we need to do it now."
"But we must equip schools to improve with educators who have demonstrated they are capable of doing an effective job," continued Belisle. "That's why the Governor's package pushes to tear down the firewall between student achievement data and teacher data. We need to know what's working and what's not to support teachers to best help all of our kids."
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