BATON ROUGE, LA - The Race to the Top (R2T) is officially underway, and Louisiana is among the 41 competitors entering the contest for the $4.35 billion federal education grant. Last Tuesday, January 19th, officials from the Louisiana Department of Education delivered the state’s application to the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C. And today, LDOE publicly released the contents of Louisiana’s 187-page R2T application, 68-page budget and 418-page appendix.

“This document represents many months of intense outreach and collaboration between the Department, policymakers, educators and other key stakeholders,” State Superintendent of Education Paul Pastorek said. “Across the state, hundreds of individuals and dozens of groups worked in tandem to develop and submit an application that integrates Louisiana’s unique circumstances and needs with the priorities and criteria outlined by the federal Race to the Top program. And we are extremely proud of Louisiana’s proposal and the collective effort that took place throughout this process.”

Race to the Top was authorized through the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and is designed to support public education reform. The $4.35 billion allocation is the single largest pool of discretionary funding dedicated to education reform in the history of the U.S.

State applicants will compete for a share of the funding based on selection criteria outlined in the federal R2T proposal. R2T grants will be awarded in two stages. The first group of awards will be announced in April, while the second group of recipient states will be announced in September. Even though participation at the state and local levels is voluntary and only a handful of states are expected to receive the grants, the District of Columbia and all but 10 states submitted applications to the USDOE last week. Louisiana, which has been identified as a strong contender due to reforms already underway, is asking the federal government for $314 million in its R2T application.

“Our aim is to secure millions of dollars to benefit local districts, schools and students and to significantly intensify Louisiana’s pursuit of bold education reform,” Pastorek said. “I’m confident that Louisiana will be highly competitive. But regardless of whether Louisiana is chosen to receive the funds, through this process we’ve created a blueprint for education reform with the potential to dramatically improve public education in Louisiana in a matter of a few years. So there is no doubt that our state has already benefitted substantially from this endeavor.”

Louisiana’s application, Our Children Can’t Wait: Louisiana’s Blueprint for Education Reform, is centered on ensuring that across the state, every student is taught by an effective teacher, and every teacher is supported by an effective leader. The document points to Louisiana’s capacity and demonstrated success in achieving meaningful reform, which will be weighted 50 percent by evaluators when considering and assessing state applications. The document also spells out Louisiana’s plan for implementing systematic change in the four education reform areas outlined by USDOE:

• 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; and
• Turning around the state’s lowest-achieving schools.

There are two key features of the state’s proposed application:

• Human Capital Information System: Research shows that effective teachers and school leaders make the largest impact on student gains.  Despite Louisiana’s progress over the last decade, one out of every three students in the state is performing below grade level. Thus to significantly raise student achievement, the state must improve the effectiveness of teachers and leaders.  Existing evaluations and technology do not clearly identify teachers in need of improvement, nor do these current measures give teachers the tools to effectively improve.  Through R2T, LDOE will collaborate with teachers to develop HCIS, a model that will fairly and reliably identify teachers who are in need of improvement. But more importantly, the HCIS will allow teachers to actually improve through Professional Learning Networks and technology that will provide them with individualized, real-time data that they can use to inform their teaching and improve their effectiveness. While HCIS will provide teachers, leaders, parents, administrators and researchers with critical information related to the recruitment, selection, placement and effectiveness of teachers and leaders, this information will be published as aggregate school site data, respecting the rights of educators, in accordance with the confidential nature of personnel policies and procedures.
• Comprehensive Performance Management System (CPMS): Through collaboration with stakeholders, LDOE is working to establish a tool to evaluate teachers called the Comprehensive Performance Management System (CPMS) for teachers. The CPMS will include a state data system that will allow districts and schools to measure, support and evaluate teacher effectiveness through training tools and standardized information. Fifty percent of the teacher evaluation will be determined by student achievement growth data.

Additionally, the application articulates the commitment of the state, 28 local school districts and 56 independent charter schools that have voluntarily signed on to take direct part in the state’s R2T program as a Participating LEA (Local Education Agency). In addition to the signatures of Governor Bobby Jindal, Attorney General James “Buddy” Caldwell, and Board of Elementary and Secondary Education President Keith Guice, LDOE attached letters of support from more than 20 legislators, including House Speaker Jim Tucker and Senate President Joel Chaisson.

Louisiana’s application also highlights the unparalleled allegiance of more than 200 organizations around the state and country who have pledged to support and contribute to Louisiana’s R2T initiative over the four-year cycle of the grant. Letters of endorsement from the Louisiana Federation of Teachers (LFT), the Associated Professional Educators of Louisiana (A+PEL), the Louisiana Association of Principals (LAP), national education groups, higher education institutions, business organizations and other key stakeholders were submitted in the appendix of the document.

Based on current enrollment numbers for the 28 districts and 56 charter schools that signed on as Participating LEAs, Louisiana’s R2T program could directly impact nearly 47 percent of the state’s total student population, 51 percent of the state’s total free and reduced-price meal population and nearly 58 percent of Louisiana’s total minority student population. And more than 72 percent of the student population enrolled in these districts and schools participates in the federal free and reduced-meal program, which is six points higher than the state average. The percentage of students participating in the federal free and reduced-price meal programs is commonly used to measure poverty in a specific population.

Participating LEAs have committed to implementing the initiatives outlined in Louisiana’s R2T plan. Districts that choose not to sign on as a Participating LEA may choose to become an Involved LEA. Involved LEAs will have the opportunity to compete for reform dollars via the Louisiana Educational Best Practice Fund (LEBP), which is budgeted at $1,800,000. This grant program is designed to incentivize the adoption of best practices. LDOE will manage the LEBP Fund and allocate competitive grants of up to $100,000 each to districts for adopting and changing behaviors around key instructional and human capital processes.

If Louisiana is successful at securing a portion of the federal grant, 50 percent of the funding received by the state will be allocated to Participating LEAs, while the remaining 50 percent will be allocated to statewide initiatives to benefit all districts and schools.

For more information, including a copy of Louisiana’s Race to the Top application, please visit www.louisianaschools.net.

To access Louisiana’s R2T application, please click here. For a summary of the state application, Louisiana’s Big Plays, please click here.

For a list of the 28 districts participating in the state’s R2T application, please click here.

For a list of charters participating in the state R2T application, either as an independent LEA (Type 2 and Type 5) or through the participation of their district (Type 1, 3 and 4), please click here.

Application with Cover Letter and Budget PDF
Budget Document PDF
Appendices PDF (very large document - 53 MB)

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