Gov. Gregoire submits Washington's Race to the Top application

For Immediate Release: June 1, 2010

OLYMPIA � Gov. Chris Gregoire today announced that Washington state has officially submitted its Race to the Top application to the U.S. Department of Education. Race to the Top grants will go to states that are leading the way with ambitious yet achievable plans for implementing coherent, compelling, and comprehensive education reform.

�When we started this process to apply for Race to the Top, we knew it would be critical that we get broad support from across the state. I�m proud to say we accomplished that and our application is much stronger because of it,� said Gregoire. �Improving our education system takes hard work and commitment. I am grateful for all the support our education reform plan has received throughout the state, and I know we will be successful in our goal of ensuring every child in our state gets a world class education.�

Statewide, 265 of Washington�s 295 districts have signed on, representing 97% of the student population. Copies of the entire 1,100-page application are available online at www.waracetothetop.org

The U.S. Department of Education will evaluate the state�s application, which requests $250 million in federal funding through the Race to the Top grant competition. Finalist states will be announced in late July or early August. Each of these states will travel to Washington, D.C., to participate in an extensive interview regarding the application submitted. Winning states will be notified in early September. Upon notification, the school districts participating in the state�s grant will have 90 days to put together detailed work plans to implement their goals.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn said submitting the Race to the Top application is just the beginning of education reform in Washington state.

�Our work continues and we are still very engaged in this important effort,� said Dorn. �We need to keep building on the momentum we�ve made in the past year to create a brighter future for all of Washington�s students.�

Washington succeeded in getting a very high level of support from local school districts. In addition to the compulsory signature of the district superintendent, 89 percent of the returned agreements included a school board president�s signature, 69 percent featured a teacher�s union president signature and 86 percent included a principals� representative signature.

�This application is something we can all be proud of, and it will serve as the foundation for even more progress,� said Jeff Vincent, chair of the Washington State Board of Education. �From east to west and urban to rural, Washington educators are united in their commitment to deliver a great quality education to all of our students.�

Gregoire, speaking at Nisqually Middle School in Lacey, specifically thanked the many volunteers from education advocacy groups around the state that spent time calling and e-mailing school districts to urge support.

�We could not have done this without the support of many people around our great state who care about our students,� Gregoire said.
Proof of Washington�s support was shown earlier this month when Washington Education Association President Mary Lindquist, Washington Association of School Administrators President Monte Bridges, Association of Washington School Principals President Phil Brockman, and Washington State School Directors� Association President Kevin Laverty together urged the state�s school districts to sign and return their Race to the Top agreements.

�We said at the beginning of this process that participation is the heart and soul of our Race to the Top application,� Lindquist said. �We all worked together the last two months to join forces in moving forward on creating a strong application.�

�Washington is united around reform and improvement, and we�re sending that message to Washington, D.C. with the submittal of our Race to the Top application,� said Bridges. �I�m proud of what we accomplished during the last two months.�

Brockman said Race to the Top funding would play a critical role in implementing major change in the state. �Race to the Top supports innovation, and too many of our schools are left without the resources needed to implement solid change, especially in our math and science programs,� he said.

With 97 percent of students in the state represented by Washington�s Race to the Top application, Laverty said the federal grant would mean new �research-based tools for teacher development, including evaluating teachers and principals� for most of the state. �This grant would help us substantially in our efforts to close the achievement gap.�

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