ARRA Resources

Race to the Top in the Federal Register

The following notice inviting applications for the Race to the Top Fund appeared in the Federal Register (Vol. 74, No. 221) on November 18, 2009.

Overview Information; Race to the Top Fund; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010;

Federal Register Extracts

SECTION: REGULATORY DOCUMENTS

LENGTH: 1644 words

DATES: Applications Available: November 18, 2009.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.395A.

Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply for Phase 1: December 8, 2009.

Date of Meeting for Potential Applicants: The Department intends to hold two technical assistance planning workshops. The first will be in Denver, Colorado, on December 3, 2009. The second will be in the Washington, DC area on December 10, 2009. We recommend that applicants attend one of these two workshops.

Deadlines for Transmittal of Applications:

Phase 1. Applications: January 19, 2010.

Phase 2 Applications: June 1, 2010. Phase 2 applicants addressing selection criterion (B)(1)(ii)(b) may amend their June 1, 2010 application submission through August 2, 2010 by submitting evidence of having adopted common standards after June 1, 2010. No other information may be submitted after June 1, 2010 in an amended application.

Deadlines for Intergovernmental Review:

Phase 1 Applications: March 18, 2010.

Phase 2 Applications: August 2, 2010.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

Purpose of Program: The purpose of the Race to the Top Fund, a competitive grant program authorized under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), is to encourage and reward States that are creating the conditions for education innovation and reform; achieving significant improvement in student outcomes, including making substantial gains in student achievement, closing achievement gaps, improving high school graduation rates, and ensuring student preparation for success in college and careers; and implementing ambitious plans in four core education reform areas:

(a) Adopting internationally-benchmarked standards and assessments that prepare students for success in college and the workplace;

(b) Building data systems that measure student success and inform teachers and principals in how they can improve their practices;

(c) Increasing teacher effectiveness and achieving equity in teacher distribution; and

(d) Turning around our lowest-achieving schools.

Priorities: These priorities are from the notice of final priorities, requirements, definitions, and selection criteria for this program, published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register .

Absolute Priority: For FY 2010, this priority is an absolute priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3), we consider only applications that meet this priority. Applicants should address this priority throughout their applications.

Priority 1: Absolute Priority--Comprehensive Approach to Education Reform.

To meet this priority, the State's application must comprehensively and coherently address all of the four education reform areas specified in the ARRA as well as the State Success Factors Criteria in order to demonstrate that the State and its participating LEAs are taking a systemic approach to education reform. The State must demonstrate in its application sufficient LEA participation and commitment to successfully implement and achieve the goals in its plans; and it must describe how the State, in collaboration with its participating LEAs, will use Race to the Top and other funds to increase student achievement, decrease the achievement gaps across student subgroups, and increase the rates at which students graduate from high school prepared for college and careers.

Competitive Preference Priority: For FY 2010, this priority is a competitive preference priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i), we award 15 additional points to applications that meet this priority. Applicants should address this priority throughout their applications.

Priority 2: Competitive Preference Priority--Emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

To meet this priority, the State's application must have a high-quality plan to address the need to (i) offer a rigorous course of study in mathematics, the sciences, technology, and engineering; (ii) cooperate with industry experts, museums, universities, research centers, or other STEM-capable community partners to prepare and assist teachers in integrating STEM content across grades and disciplines, in promoting effective and relevant instruction, and in offering applied learning opportunities for students; and (iii) prepare more students for advanced study and careers in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics, including by addressing the needs of underrepresented groups and of women and girls in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Invitational Priorities: For FY 2010, these priorities are invitational priorities. With an invitational priority, we signal our interest in receiving applications that meet the priority; however, consistent with 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1), we do not give an application that meets an invitational priority preference over other applications.

Priority 3: Invitational Priority--Innovations for Improving Early Learning Outcomes.

The Secretary is particularly interested in applications that include practices, strategies, or programs to improve educational outcomes for high-need students who are young children (pre-kindergarten through third grade) by enhancing the quality of preschool programs. Of particular interest are proposals that support practices that (i) improve school readiness (including social, emotional, and cognitive); and (ii) improve the transition between preschool and kindergarten.

Priority 4: Invitational Priority--Expansion and Adaptation of Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems.

The Secretary is particularly interested in applications in which the State plans to expand statewide longitudinal data systems to include or integrate data from special education programs, English language learner programs, /1/ early childhood programs, at-risk and dropout prevention programs, and school climate and culture programs, as well as information on student mobility, human resources (i.e., information on teachers, principals, and other staff), school finance, student health, postsecondary education, and other relevant areas, with the purpose of connecting and coordinating all parts of the system to allow important questions related to policy, practice, or overall effectiveness to be asked, answered, and incorporated into effective continuous improvement practices.

FOOTNOTE 1 The term English language learner, as used in this notice, is synonymous with the term limited English proficient, as defined in section 9101 of the ESEA. END FOOTNOTE

The Secretary is also particularly interested in applications in which States propose working together to adapt one State's statewide longitudinal data system so that it may be used, in whole or in part, by one or more other States, rather than having each State build or continue building such systems independently.

Priority 5: Invitational Priority--P-20 Coordination, Vertical and Horizontal Alignment.

The Secretary is particularly interested in applications in which the State plans to address how early childhood programs, K-12 schools, postsecondary institutions, workforce development organizations, and other State agencies and community partners (e.g., child welfare, juvenile justice, and criminal justice agencies) will coordinate to improve all parts of the education system and create a more seamless preschool-through-graduate school (P-20) route for students. Vertical alignment across P-20 is particularly critical at each point where a transition occurs (e.g., between early childhood and K-12, or between K-12 and postsecondary/careers) to ensure that students exiting one level are prepared for success, without remediation, in the next. Horizontal alignment, that is, coordination of services across schools, State agencies, and community partners, is also important in ensuring that high-need students (as defined in this notice) have access to the broad array of opportunities and services they need and that are beyond the capacity of a school itself to provide.

Priority 6: Invitational Priority--School-Level Conditions for Reform, Innovation, and Learning.

The Secretary is particularly interested in applications in which the State's participating LEAs (as defined in this notice) seek to create the conditions for reform and innovation as well as the conditions for learning by providing schools with flexibility and autonomy in such areas as--

(i) Selecting staff;

(ii) Implementing new structures and formats for the school day or year that result in increased learning time (as defined in this notice);

(iii) Controlling the school's budget;

(iv) Awarding credit to students based on student performance instead of instructional time;

(v) Providing comprehensive services to high-need students (as defined in this notice) (e.g., by mentors and other caring adults; through local partnerships with community-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, and other providers);

(vi) Creating school climates and cultures that remove obstacles to, and actively support, student engagement and achievement; and

(vii) Implementing strategies to effectively engage families and communities in supporting the academic success of their students.

Final Requirements: The following requirements are from the notice of final priorities, requirements, definitions, and selection criteria, published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register .

Application Requirements:

(a) The State's application must be signed by the Governor, the State's chief school officer, and the president of the State board of education (if applicable). States will respond to this requirement in the application, Section III, Race to the Top Application Assurances. In addition, the assurances in Section IV must be signed by the Governor.

--This is a summary of a Federal Register article originally published on the page number listed below--

Citation: "74 FR 59836"

Federal Register Page Number: "59836"