One year after the first Race to the Top federal education grants were awarded, the dozen winners are starting to implement the programs that won them the money–and in some cases, trying to scale back on plans that may have promised too much, too soon, Michele McNeil reports at Education Week.
The U.S. Department of Education has approved changes to Race to the Top plans in six states and the District of Columbia, McNeil writes, ranging from a delay in implementing Massachusetts’ tiered licensing system for principals to North Carolina’s plan to scale back a new teacher-retention bonus program.
Just $43 million of the $4 billion in Race to the Top grants awarded last year has been spent so far. Five states have not had their “scope-of-work” plans–detailed blueprints for implementing the programs outlined in their applications–approved yet.