RACE TO THE TOP

The Department of Education expects the next Race To The Top competition to have an August deadline. Funding is anticipated to be about $400 million and the competition will be open to both states and districts. Check back later this summer for more details.

Grant: Race To The Top – District Level Competition
Agency: U.S. Department of Education
Division: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
Deadline: Optional Notice of Intent to Apply due August 30, 2012. The full proposal deadline has been extended to November 7, 2012 for local educational agencies in states affected by Hurricane Sandy (where a major disaster/emergency declaration has been issued) and November 2, 2012 for local educational agencies in all other areas.

Description: The purpose of the Race to the Top (RTTT) Fund is to support those states making significant progress in the following areas:

• Adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace, and to compete in the global economy.
• Building data systems that measure student growth and success, and inform teachers and principals about how they can improve instruction.
• Recruiting, developing, rewarding, and retaining effective teachers and principals, especially where they are needed most.
• Turning around the Nation’s lowest-achieving schools.

In the past three rounds of RTTT funding, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) has conducted state competitions, which provided incentives to states to adopt bold and comprehensive reforms in elementary and secondary education and laid the foundation for unprecedented innovation. A total of 46 states and the District of Columbia were named as winners in the first three phases.

In this fourth phase, the DOE has expanded the eligibility to the district level. This competition is aimed squarely at classrooms and the all-important relationship between educators and students. The DOE is encouraging local educational agencies (LEA), or consortia of LEAs, to implement personalized, student-focused approaches to learning and teaching that will produce excellence and ensure equity for all students. The amount of each grant will depend on the number of students who would be served under the application. The greater the number of participating students, the greater the grant amount to be received; see the anticipated funding section below for a more detailed breakdown.

In this district level competition, the DOE has introduced five new absolute priorities and one competitive preference priority. The first Absolute Priority must be addressed by all applicants:

• Absolute Priority 1: Personalized Learning Environments (required by all): Applicants must design a personalized learning environment that will use collaborative, data-based strategies and 21^st century tools such as online learning platforms, computers, mobile devices and learning algorithms, to deliver instruction and support tailored to the needs and goals of each student, with the aim of enabling all students to graduate college- and career-ready.

In addition, applicants must choose one of the following absolute priorities that address eligibility status: 

• Absolute Priority 2: Non-Rural LEAs in Race to the Top States: Applicants must be an LEA in which more than 50 percent of participating students are in non-rural LEAs in states that received awards under previous RTTT funding.
• Absolute Priority 3: Rural LEAs in Race to the Top States: Applicants must be an LEA in which more than 50 percent of participating students are in rural LEAs in states that received awards under previous RTTT funding.
• Absolute Priority 4: Non-Rural LEAs in non-Race to the Top States: Applicants must be an LEA in which more than 50 percent of participating students are in non-rural LEAs in states that did not receive previous RTTT funding.
• Absolute Priority 5: Rural LEAs in non-Race to the Top States: Applicants must be an LEA in which more than 50 percent of participating students are in rural LEAs in states that did not received previous RTTT funding.  

Finally, applicants that address the following Competitive Preference Priority will receive an additional 10 points on their application:

• Results, Resource Align and Integrated Services: preference will be given to applicants that propose to integrate public or private resources in a partnership designed to augment the schools’ resources by providing additional student and family supports to schools that address the social, emotional or behavioral needs of the participating students, giving highest priority to students in participating schools with high-need students.

Fit for public broadcasting: Public media stations have been successful partners in the past three Race to the Top competitions. Funded projects in Tennessee, Georgia, Maryland and Massachusetts all included partnerships with local public broadcasting stations. Read more on these successful partnerships.

Stations are encouraged to reach out to local school districts to discuss potential partnerships in in this fourth phase. Districts with education reform measures being planned or already in place are expected to be the strongest candidates. For resources about approaching partners, download the resources from our 2010 and 2011 webinars about signature education programs and successful partnerships.

Eligibility: Previous phases awarded RTTT grants to eligible states. In this phase, the competition is shifted to individual school districts, widening the scope of eligible applicants. While stations are not eligible to apply directly, they are encouraged to partner with a district that meets the following requirements:

• The applicant must be an individual LEA, or a consortium of LEAs from the 50 states, and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
• The applicant must serve a minimum of 2,000 participating students or may serve fewer than 2,000 participating students provided those students are served by a consortium of at least 10 LEAs, and at least 75 percent of the students served by each LEA are participating students.
• At least 40 percent of participating students across all participating schools must be students from low-income families.
• The applicant must demonstrate its commitment to the core educational assurance areas.
• Applicants must obtain signatures from the superintendent or CEO, local school board president and local teacher union or association president.

Anticipated funding: The DOE anticipates granting 15-24 awards under this RTTT competition. An estimated $383 million is available with individual awards averaging between $5 million - $40 million.

The size of each award will be determined based on the number of students to be impacted. Districts with 2,000 – 5,000 participating students will be eligible to receive between $5 – 10 million. Districts with 5,001 – 10,000 participating students will be eligible to receive $10 – 20 million; districts with 10,001 – 25,000 participating students will be eligible to receive $20 – 30 million; and districts with 25,001 and greater will be eligible to receive awards ranging from $30 – 40 million. Districts serving fewer than 2,000 students are still provided those students are served by a consortium of at least 10 LEAs and at least 75 percent of the students served by each LEA are participating students.

How to apply: Applications can be submitted electronically via Grants.gov, or by mail or hand delivery. Online submission requires registration, a process that usually takes three to five business days but can take as long as four weeks. Be sure to visit Grants.gov and begin registering well in advance of the grant deadline.

Additionally, to do business with the U.S. Department of Education, applicants must have a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number and a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and both numbers must be registered with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR), the government's primary registrant database. The CCR registration process may take five or more business days to complete.

Resources:
Program notice
To assist prospective applicants in preparing an application, the Department plans to host an informative webinar on both August 16, and August 21, 2012. More details on these webinars are available online.
Notice Inviting Applications
Program website
Download the APTS/PBS Race To The Top document
Phase three information and assurances
Download the handout describing four stations' success in Race To The Top