President Obama's Race To The Top Grants - How You Can Help Secure Your Share Of The Funds

Topic: Traditional Education

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In the Spring of 2009, President Obama unveiled his plan for educational reform. The Race to the Top funds in the form of Grants will make an unprecedented $4.35 BILLION dollars available to states, districts and schools to assist in improving the education of our youth to compete with the rest of the world. Though all subjects are important, particular focus in this program is in the areas of Math and Science.

Instead of just doling out the money in an 'equal shares' procedure, the Race to the Top program will use a competition model for its distribution methods. Moneys will now be awarded to schools, districts and states that can demonstrate measurable results in their teaching methods and also measurable results for teachers as well.

So how can one teacher do his or her part to compete for Race to the Top funds on such a grand scale? In a way it's like a catch 22. Schools need the money to develop and implement such programs, but don't have the money for it (yet).

I believe the key is working with what you have today to maximize the benefits, while refining the processes by which you do so, for greater gains in the future.

No secret there. Teachers strive to maximize their limited resources on a daily basis as it is, and it would be insulting to presume to list here ways of making class materials stretch. However, there may be some common sense ideas on not how to stretch physical resources, but to expand your intellectual resources to help secure these Race to the Top funds for future scholastic programs or facility improvements.

Here are some ways that an individual teacher can help the process:

1.) Work cooperatively with your school, district and state to implement whatever programs are dictated. Offer unsolicited suggestions in a broad scope to your principal. Offer additional suggestions to improve on these new programs being implemented. Don't take it personally if your ideas are rejected. Remember that there are other people also looking at the big picture as well. Just keep the ideas flowing.

2.) Work within your department to develop programs that interconnect classes together and move towards the objectives of the mandated programs. As Education Secretary Arne Dunham has stated,

"A low-income, middle school student in San Antonio should not be held to a lower standard in algebra than a middle school student in Shaker Heights-or Shanghai. That's why we are looking for Race to the Top states to adopt common, internationally-benchmarked K-12 standards that truly prepare students for college and careers."

There's not a lot of room for renegade teachers here, unless they are the ones working the plan when no one else is.

3.) Have departmental brainstorming sessions on goal-setting and create methods to achieve those goals. Goals are nothing if there is no way to attain them. Part of the process should not only be the final result, but also give teachers the tools to attain these results. Don't forget about this important step when brainstorming.

4.) Within your own classroom, exercise your authority as teacher to implement the guidelines that have been established. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, so do your utmost and do your part to meet the objectives that have been determined.

5.) Go beyond the guidelines and don't be afraid to try new techniques and methods. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither will education reform. It will take time to develop techniques and find creative tools to help teachers in their quest to improve educational levels in their classrooms.

Cooperation and communication with your department, school, district and state will be key in securing Race to the Top funds now being made available by President Obama. Do your part to help yourself and your students to get additional funding and achieve for them, the best education possible.

02/20/2010

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