The U.S. Department of Education announced today that 18 states and the District of Columbia would receive $3 billion in federal education reform funding as part of the Race to the Top program. Washington State’s application was not funded. Superintendent Art Jarvis released the following statement on the decision.
Superintendent Art Jarvis statement on Race to the Top announcement:
While not entirely unexpected, the elimination of Washington state from the Race to the Top (RTTT) funding is a real loss for Tacoma’s children.
We need the help, and we received none. The goals of the RTTT were designed to serve children in schools and school systems exactly like Tacoma. As superintendent, I am saddened that staffs in Tacoma and Yakima and deserving districts like ours will receive no support from RTTT to make system improvements for our kids.
Initial concerns about Washington state’s competitiveness suggested we would not receive RTTT funding because our state doesn’t allow charter schools. We believed programs like Tacoma’s SOTA and SAMI provided exceptional evidence that non-traditional public schools could be just as innovative and successful as any charter school. We also had hope in our RTTT application because of the aggressive work at Tacoma’s low-performing middle schools, including some of the boldest education reform work being undertaken anywhere.
Ultimately, the federal system for RTTT was set up to favor a few states. Our children will be the ones to suffer. I support the legislative and political efforts in Washington state to pursue educational reform, and I congratulate Gov. Gregoire and others for pulling this RTTT plan together despite the odds.
Despite the federal government’s decision, Tacoma will continue to seek aggressive reform and improvement. This decision today will not help us but neither will it stop us.