Louisiana needs to continue reforms through “Race to the Top”

• The Advocate: “The reforms undertaken over the past dozen years, and accelerated under the leadership of Education Superintendent Paul Pastorek, give Louisiana a strong shot at big bucks in Race to the Top…We hope Louisiana takes advantage of the Race to the Top. School reforms, from high-stakes testing to charter schools to teacher pay raises, often have been achieved with great political costs. Now, it’s time for Louisiana to get some payback.” (Editorial, “Our Views: Get into Race for ed grants,” The Advocate, October 27, 2009)

US Education Secretary calls N.O. a place for “phenomenal innovation”

• The Times-Picayune: “During a visit to New Orleans on Friday, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan called Louisiana ‘uniquely positioned’ to vie for $5 billion in grants that will be awarded in the next year to education reformers ‘willing to push the envelope.’ The former Chicago schools chief, recently appointed to the federal post by President Barack Obama, praised many of the city’s education changes. ‘In places like this, there’s phenomenal innovation going on,’ he said during a meeting with Times-Picayune editors and reporters. ‘It’s not that all the answers are here, but a lot of answers are here.’” (Sarah Carr, “US Education Secretary praises school changes going on inN.O.,” Times-Picayune, March 20, 2009)

National School Boards Association says Race to the Top will provide more opportunities for student achievement

• NSBA Letter to U.S. Department of Education: “Overall, NSBA believes that the program will provide grant recipient states with a significant opportunity to build a results driven infrastructure and implement initiatives that will raise student achievement. RTTT can also provide a model from which recipient states and other states can learn and adopt strategies that will make a difference in the education of America’s school children.” (NSBA letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, August 25, 2009)

US Education Secretary highlights Louisiana model for teachers

• Time: “Secretary of Education Arne Duncan suggested that more states mimic a model currently being used in Louisiana in which student test scores in grades 4-9 are traced back to their teachers who are in turn traced back to their place of training…Concern over the ability of teacher colleges to produce effective teachers has long existed and only increased as the focus of education policy has turned to accountability and data… The difference, as Duncan never misses an opportunity to point out, is that the Federal Government now has financial incentives through which to effect change – a $4.35 billion pot of innovation grants.” (Gilbert Cruz, “Are Teacher Colleges Producing MediocreTeachers?” Time, October 23, 2009)

US Education Secretary recognizes strategy that works in Louisiana

• Daily Town Talk (Alexandria): “At the same time, we must acknowledge progress and use the positive energy it brings. The latest is this: U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is praising Louisiana for linking the success of classrooms to their preparation programs. ‘Right now, Louisiana is the only state in the nation that tracks the effectiveness of its teacher preparation programs,’ Duncan said last week in a speech at Columbia University in New York City. ‘Every state in the nation should be doing the same.’ Duncan called Louisiana’s strategy ‘a simple but obvious idea.’" (Editorial, “EDITORIAL: In Louisiana, real change, real results,” Daily Town Talk, October 27, 2009)

LA must continue progress and maximize its Race to the Top opportunity

• The Times-Picayune: “It’s not often that Louisiana finds itself among the best states in education-related comparisons. It’s even more auspicious that the occasion comes as billions in federal grants are about to be doled out. That’s an opportunity state and local education boards need to maximize. State and local officials must take advantage of the progress we’ve made by seeking Race to the Top funds to further expand those reforms” (Editorial, “EDITORIAL: A Golden Opportunity,” Times-Picayune, August 19, 2009

US Education Secretary says Louisiana “uniquely positioned” for federal grants

• The Times-Picayune: “A dozen years into the state’s education accountability effort and 3 ½ years after Hurricane Katrina devastation. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said Louisiana is among an elite group of states poised to compete for $5 billion in innovation grants in the Obama Administration’s stimulus package… ‘That will be a challenge for state and local education leaders, and they ought to start working now on strategies.’” (Editorial, “EDITORIAL: A Race to the Top: School transformation in New Orleans needs continued federal support,” Times-Picayune, March 22, 2009)

Race to the Top presents Louisiana with an opportunity

• Gambit Weekly: “This is a perfect opportunity to show the rest of the nation that Louisiana is serious about education reform…DOE hasn’t released the final application documents for the grant program, but it has distributed draft guidelines. The New Teacher Project, a nonprofit educational organization, issued a report based on the guidelines, and only Louisiana and Florida were judged to be ‘highly competitive’ for the funding.” (Editorial, “EDITORIAL: A Perfect Opportunity,” Gambit Weekly, August 25, 2009)

Sharpton and Gingrich partner to promote Race to the Top

• The Wall Street Journal: “Education Secretary Arne Duncan invited an odd pair of allies to classrooms in this city to help tout his multibillion-dollar bid to shake up the country’s education system: the liberal Rev. Al Sharpton and the conservative former House Speaker Newt Gingrich…The administration plans in just months to distribute $4.3 billion under its new Race to the Top program… ‘These two guys don’t agree on 96% of everything else, but they do agree on the need for dramatic educational reform,’ Mr. Duncan said. Messrs. Sharpton and Gingrich, foes on health care and other issues, are eager supporters of the administration’s education agenda”(Neil King Jr., “Schools Push Hits the Road,” The Wall Street Journal, September 30, 2009)

LA has momentum for school improvement

• Baton Rouge Business Report: “During (the last) 10 years, we have also seen the significant growth of charter schools, school choice and competition…This all tells me that, despite all the noise and complaining from the status quo and unions, these changes in accountability and school choice are working and challenging students and schools to get better…Charter schools have an independent, local board and come as close as you get to the perfect model of removing politics from the classroom and making sure most of the money benefits the students. Board members are community volunteers in a nonprofit. This is the best example of local control and neighborhood schools.” (Editorial, “EDITORIAL: Accountability, Competition work in La.” Baton Rouge Business Report, October 20, 2009)

Charter Schools contribute to significant gains in student achievement

• The Times-Picayune: “The latest Louisiana school performance scores are an indication of the dramatic changes in New Orleans classrooms post-Katrina. A main reason is the shift from traditional schools to charter schools, which are publicly financed but independently operated” (Editorial, “EDITORIAL: New Orleans’ Schools moving in the right direction,” Times-Picayune, October 21, 2009)

President Obama recognizes N.O. Charter

• The Christian Science Monitor: “President Obama’s visit to a charter school in post-Katrina New Orleans today is just one more indication that these nontraditional schools are finally getting the validation they deserve…. The school visited by the president, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Charter School for Science and Technology, educates mainly poor African-American children. It stands out as a success story, along with other New Orleans charters, when compared with the city’s traditional public schools,” (Editorial, “EDITORIAL: Obama’s Salute to a New Orleans Charter School,” Christian Science Monitor, October 15, 2009)

New Teacher Project names Louisiana “competitive” for Race to the Top Funding

• The Independent Weekly (Lafayette): “Louisiana is one of two states in prime position to capitalize on the U.S. Department of Education’s $4.35 billion ‘Race to the Top’ grant sweepstakes, according to a new report from a national nonprofit group. The New Teacher Project handicaps the race, listing Louisiana and Florida as the only highly competitive states.” (Nathan Stubbs, “La. Well positioned for Race to the Top Funds,” The Independent Weekly, August 17, 2009)

Louisiana cited as a Race to the Top frontrunner

• Education Week: “Education observers name a few states as early favorites for Race to the Top Awards. Chief among them: Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts, and Louisiana.” (Michelle McNeil, “Racing for an Early Edge,” Education Week, July 9, 2009)

Former Florida Governor voices support for Race to the Top

• The Orlando Sentinel: “Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush ‘applauded’ President Barack Obama for his push for education reform efforts, saying he supported many of those initiatives, like the ‘race to the top’ competitive grant program, despite political differences... ‘As a committed Republican, a committed conservative, I’m tired of the partisan bickering...I believe it’s time for us to put that aside.’” (Leslie Postal, “Jeb Bush saysAmerica in Education Arms Race,” The Orlando Sentinel, October 9, 2009)

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