Connecticut learned today that it is not among the 19 finalists in the second round of federal Race to the Top (RTTT) grant funding.
The second round finalists announced by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan are Arizona, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and South Carolina.
The U.S. Department of Education’s July 27 announcement comes after education stakeholder groups, CEA, state legislators, and the State Department of Education came together to craft a bold new education reform law. Teachers and education officials had hoped that the reforms contained in the new law would strengthen the state’s application.
“Not all of the states in Race to the Top sought the degree of buy-in and collaboration that Connecticut achieved,” said CEA Executive Director John Yrchik. “In fact, some of the states listed as finalists by the Secretary of Education damaged long-standing relationships and enacted reforms over the strenuous objections of teacher unions.”
Yrchik added that perhaps the most important development in Connecticut’s RTTT process was not the final statute, but the degree of cooperation among diverse stakeholders and the ongoing commitment to education reform among them. “More than anything else, the history of education reform shows that successful reform cannot be imposed or legislated. It must be embraced.”
In the last ten to fifteen years the focus has shifted from curriculum, standards and challenging inovative teaching practices to testing and accountability. Too many conservative groups take issue with curricular standards and fear that they represent some type of political agenda. Therefore it is easier just to leave it to the states who likewise, do not want any controversial issues. We all know how effective testing has been at creating rigorous curriculum and inspiring the type of learning that would restore us to our previous state. No reform has much of a chance as long as the federal government is in charge of setting it up and the primary strategy is to diminish the effectiveness of professional associations and labor unions with some pretty anti educational agendas.