Governor Granholm Statement on Announcement of Round One Finalists for Race to the Top Grants

March 4, 2010

LANSING - Governor Jennifer M. Granholm issued the following statement on today's announcement that the U.S. Department of Education has selected 15 state finalists and the District of Columbia in the competition for round one "Race to the Top" grants funded through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 (Recovery Act).

"We always believed it was in Michigan's best interest to apply for Race to the Top funding early, even if we didn't receive a penny in the first round of funding," said Granholm.  "The Department of Education will now provide us with detailed feedback on our plan, allowing us to strengthen our application for round two.  We look forward to making the case that the reforms we are putting in place will help us build the best-educated workforce in the country - a vital part of our strategy to grow and diversify Michigan's economy."

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan said that despite not making the cut in this first round of Race to the Top, his team will continue to implement the recently enacted education reform laws here in Michigan.

"Although it would've been nice to get funding in this first round, our schools and our students cannot wait, and we will continue designing this new education system to move Michigan forward," Flanagan said.

On January 4, Governor Granholm signed a five-bill legislative package that reforms Michigan's education system and allows the state to compete for federal Recovery Act funds through President Obama's Race to the Top initiative.  Michigan's reform plan makes student academic growth a key part of how the state evaluates teachers, principals and schools and includes:

• allowing the state to intervene in the lowest-performing schools;
• permitting new high-quality charter schools to open if they meet certain standards and permitting the closure of low-performing charter schools;
• requiring administrators to be certified;
• requiring an annual evaluation of teachers and administrators using data on student growth;
• creating alternative routes to teacher certification to help bring the best and brightest into our classrooms;
• raising the dropout age from 16 to 18, effective for the high school class of 2016.

Race to the Top is a competitive grant program funded through the Recovery Act to encourage and reward states that are transforming schools in four key areas: enhancing standards and assessments, improving the collection and use of data, increasing teacher effectiveness and achieving equity in teacher distribution, and turning around struggling schools.  The U.S. Department of Education will make awards in two phases, with phase one funding awarded in spring 2010 and phase two funding awarded by September 30, 2010.

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