Race to the Top - Just Keep Running

Kentucky recently lost out on the second round of Race to the Top funding offered by the Department of Education. Two times our state has been a finalist only to lose the final funding award. Compounding the loss is that our state has directed our education system to begin a systemic overhaul that includes a number of major changes in standards, assessments, and teacher evaluation. It was the intent of the Kentucky Department of Education to utilize Race to the Top funds to make these changes happen. Instead they are saddled with the prospect of reducing their own staff and furloughing staff who are fortunate to keep their jobs. Now, they are faced with the dilemma of asking the Kentucky General Assembly to fully fund Senate Bill 1 which includes all these changes and, with the continuting economic downfall, the chances of that happening are slim.

So, given our circumstances, what are we to do? My suggestion is that we just keep running - moving forward. One of the benefits of Senate Bill 1 and the Race to the Top Grant submission is that our state education leaders have taken time to seriously look at our current educational system, to analyze its strengths and weaknesses, and to develop a plan of action that they are confident will lead us to better student performance. While our schools cannot be responsible for the state-wide components of this plan, we can implement the ideas that are achieveable at a classroom level. We can implement Professional Learning Communities. We can facilitate conversations and learning for our staff. At the building and classroom level we have teachers who have the skills and expertise to examine areas of concern and find ways to address them. Working in groups we can learn collectively how to improve student learning. We can begin to implement research based interventions that we have simply not used on a building-wide basis. We have always had teachers who go that "extra mile" but now we have societal pressures that will encourage all teachers to do whatever it takes to increase student performance. We can and will make this happen.

So, we didn't get Race to the Top dollars. It does not change the reality for our schools. We still must change and learn new strategies that will help us teach more diverse learners. We must be responsible for our students and I know that our teachers are ready to do just that. Race to the Top simply defined our direction. Now it is up to us to put on our running shoes. We still plan on racing to the top and making our students winners in the 21st century.