Governor Rendell: Pennsylvania Among Finalists in Second Round of Federal Race to the Top Funding Competition

State Could Receive Up to $400 million to Accelerate Reforms, Boost Achievement

HARRISBURG, Pa., July 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Pennsylvania is one of 19 finalists in the second round of the highly competitive federal Race to the Top grant competition, Governor Rendell said today.

If selected, the state could receive up to $400 million in federal funding to help build on and accelerate its strong progress in education reform and student achievement over the past seven years.

"Pennsylvania's finalist status in round two of Race to the Top is a real testament to the hard work we've already done in implementing targeted reforms that help our students to achieve and succeed," Governor Rendell said. "Pennsylvania's education community should be enormously proud that these efforts have been recognized in advancing our Race to the Top application."

Pennsylvania's application included agreements signed by the superintendent, school board president and local teachers' union president of 122 of the state's school districts and 69 charter schools committing to implement strategies and activities that will help meet ambitious student achievement targets over the next four years. Superintendents of another 152 school districts which chose not to participate directly in the Race to the Top application also signed letters of support for Pennsylvania's Race to the Top strategies.

Race to the Top funds would be used to accelerate ongoing efforts to:

• Increase student achievement and develop data systems capable of supporting reform;
• Turn around the lowest performing schools;
• Create a world-class system for professional development;
• Develop a robust evaluation system for teachers and leaders; and
• Evaluate programs to identify and spread best practices.

The funds would help double the rate of students reaching proficient and advanced levels of academic achievement; ensure more than 100,000 additional students perform at least at grade level; cut in half the number of students testing at the lowest level; and help ensure that at least 85 percent of students in the most struggling schools reach proficiency.

In order to formally participate in Pennsylvania's Race to the Top application, a school district's superintendent, school board president, and local teachers' union president were required to sign an agreement committing to implement specific activities and to meeting student achievement targets.

Pennsylvania's application committed to establish a rigorous, multi-measure teacher and principal evaluation system with input from school districts and charter schools, intermediate units, state and local teachers' unions and other professional associations, parents and business and community leaders.

That commitment and collaborative involvement caught the attention of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which awarded Pennsylvania a $769,000 grant to give the state a head start on designing and piloting components of a fair and effective evaluation system. The grant will help the education community identify and evaluate specific measures of student growth that should be used to develop and implement a fair and transparent system for the evaluation of our public school teachers and principals.

"Pennsylvania's emergence as a Race to the Top finalist is a direct reflection of not only the quality of the reforms outlined in our application, but also the effectiveness of the reforms that Pennsylvania has already undertaken," said acting Secretary of Education Thomas E. Gluck. "We are extremely pleased to be among the handful of states to make the cut."

Governor Rendell said continued focus on and investments in education have yielded results in student achievement:

• Since 2002, the percentage of students scoring at the highest performance levels on state tests doubled at the same time the percentage scoring at the lowest levels was cut by nearly half.
• Pennsylvania was the only state to achieve significant progress in reading and math in every grade tested between 2002 and 2008.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the state Race to the Top finalists in a speech today at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Pennsylvania and the other finalists will be invited to make a presentation in Washington in mid-August, with the grants to be announced in early September.

Pennsylvania's Race to the Top application is available online at: http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/american_recovery_and_reinvestment_act/17696/race_to_the_top/613085

Media Contacts:

Steve Weitzman, PDE; 717-783-9802

Gary Tuma, Governor's Office; 717-783-1116

Editor's Note: A list of school districts (SD) and charter schools (CS) that submitted Race to the Top memoranda of understanding follows:

Abington SD

Aliquippa SD

Allegheny Valley SD

Allentown City SD

Armstrong SD

Bald Eagle Area SD

Bangor Area SD

Bellwood-Antis SD

Bethlehem Area SD

Big Spring SD

Blacklick Valley SD

Bradford Area SD

Brockway Area SD

Burrell SD

Catasauqua Area SD

Central Bucks SD

Central Cambria SD

Central Greene SD

Central York SD

Chester-Upland SD

Chichester SD

Clairton City SD

Coatesville Area SD

Cornell SD

Crawford Central SD

Crestwood SD

Curwensville Area SD

Dallas SD

Derry Area SD (Westmoreland Co.)

Duquesne City SD

East Allegheny SD

East Lycoming SD

East Stroudsburg Area SD

Elizabeth Forward SD

Erie City SD

Fannett-Metal SD

Fort LeBoeuf SD

Frazier SD

Girard SD

Glendale SD

Greater Latrobe SD

Greensburg Salem SD

Harbor Creek SD

Harmony Area SD

Harrisburg City SD

Haverford Township SD

Hazleton Area SD

Hermitage SD

Hollidaysburg Area SD

Indiana Area SD

Interboro SD

Iroquois SD

Jeannette City SD

Jenkintown SD

Jim Thorpe Area SD

Kane Area SD

Kiski Area SD

Kutztown Area SD

Lancaster SD

Lebanon SD

Lehighton Area SD

Marple Newtown SD

McKeesport Area SD

Meyersdale Area SD

Midland Borough SD

Minersville Area SD

Mohawk Area SD

Monessen City SD

Montgomery Area SD

Montoursville Area SD

Morrisville Borough SD

Mount Union Area SD

Muhlenberg SD

New Brighton Area SD

New Kensington-Arnold SD

Norristown SD

North East SD

Northern Bedford County SD

Northern Cambria SD

Octorara Area SD

Oxford Area SD

Panther Valley SD

Penn Cambria SD

Penn Hills SD

Penncrest SD

Penn-Delco SD

Perkiomen Valley SD

Philadelphia City SD

Pittsburgh SD

Pittston Area SD

Pleasant Valley SD

Pottsgrove SD

Pottsville Area SD

Quaker Valley SD

Quakertown Community SD

Reading SD

Riverview SD

Salisbury-Elk Lick SD

Schuylkill Haven Area SD

Scranton SD

Sharon City SD

South Park SD

South Western SD

Southeast Delco SD

Southern York County SD

Spring Cove SD

Spring-Ford Area SD

Titusville Area SD

Turkeyfoot Valley Area SD

Tussey Mountain SD

Union City Area SD

Upper Darby SD

Upper Moreland Township SD

Warren County SD

Weatherly Area SD

West Allegheny SD

West York Area SD

William Penn SD

Williamsport Area SD

Wilson SD

Wissahickon SD

York City SD

Ad Prima CS

Alliance for Progress CS

Antonia Pantoja Community CS

Architecture and Design CHS

Bear Creek Community CS

Belmont Academy CS

Belmont CS

Boys Latin of Philadelphia CS

Center for Student Learning CS at Pennsbury

Chester Community CS

Christopher Columbus CS

Collegium CS

Commonwealth Connections Academy CS

Crispus Attucks Youthbuild CS

Delaware Valley CHS

Erin Dudley Forbes CS

Eugenio Maria de Hostos CS

First Phila CS for Literacy

Folk Arts-Cultural Treasures CS

Franklin Towne CES

Franklin Towne CHS

Freire CS

Global Leadership Academy CS

Graystone Academy CS

Green Woods CS

Hardy Williams Academy CS

Imani Education Circle CS

Independence CS

Khepera CS

KIPP Academy Charter School

KIPP West Philadelphia Preparatory Chart Laboratory CS

Lehigh Valley CHS for the Performing Arts

Lincoln CS

Lincoln Leadership Academy CS

Lincoln Park Performing Arts CS

Manchester Academic CS

Maritime Academy Charter School

MAST Community Charter School

Mastery Charter High School

Mastery CS--Pickett Campus

Mastery CS--Shoemaker Campus

Mastery CS--Thomas Campus

Montessori Regional CS

New Foundations CS

New Hope Academy CS

New Media Technology CS

Nueva Esperanza Academy CS

Pennsylvania Cyber CS

People for People CS

Philadelphia Harambee Inst CS

Philadelphia Performing Arts CS

Planet Abacus CS

Pocono Mountain Charter School

Propel CS-East

Propel CS-Homestead

Propel CS-McKeesport

Propel CS--Montour

Renaissance Acad-Edison CS

Roberto Clemente CS

Russell Byers CS

Sankofa Freedom Academy CS

Southwest Leadership Academy CS

Tacony Academy CS

Tuscarora Blended Learning CS

Universal Institute CS

Urban League of Pittsburgh CS

West Oak Lane CS

West Phila. Achievement CES

SOURCE Pennsylvania Office of the Governor