Second Round Race to the Top Winners Announced

New York, North Carolina, Georgia and Ohio are among the winners of $3.4 billion in coveted education grants, federal education officials said Tuesday morning.

The states are among the second-round winners of the Race to the Top grant competition being announced this morning by the Obama administration. WaPo

All of the Race to the Top winners, according to msnbc: Washington D.C., Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina, New York, Ohio and Rhode Island. Race to the Top, funded by the stimulus, is a competition designed to get school districts to improve their schools.

Obama's Speech at Kalamazoo Central High School

Obama to Speak at Kalamazoo Central High Graduation

In February, the Obama administration challenged high schools to high achievement. The winner--Kalamazoo Central High--gets Obama to speak at their graduation.

The six finalists: Blue Valley Northwest High School in Overland Park, KS, Clark Montessori in Cincinnati, OH, Denver School of Science and Technology in Denver, Colorado, Environmental Charter High School in Lawndale, CA, Kalamazoo Central High School in Kalamazoo, MI and MAST Academy in Miami, FL.

On the White House blog, Melody Barnes said the White House will work to get a Cabinet secretary or a senior administration official to deliver those high schools' commencement addresses.

Obama Speaks on Race to the Top Jan. 19

Updated with video. See Obama's sked for the rest of the day below.

President Barack Obama announced plans Tuesday to expand his administration's "Race to the Top" program with an extra $1.35 billion in next year's federal budget to boost incentives for public school reform.

The program - currently backed by $4.35 billion in Recovery Act funds - provides grants to states that create rigorous academic standards, attract talented teachers, use data to improve instruction and revamp low-performing schools.

Obama's plan would raise the program's overall funding through the fiscal 2011 budget with a focus on supporting school districts' self-improvement efforts.

The president visited Graham Road Elementary, a low-income Fairfax County school with top marks, to announce the expansion as one part of a larger education agenda. Reform will continue "until we felt like we're made significant process across the country," said a senior administration official. Read more at Politico

Obama and Arne Duncan meet 6th graders:


At around 10:30 am eastern Obama will speak on Race to the Top, which is a nationwide competition among states (except for Texas) for education grants.

Obama to Announce $250 Million Science and Math Funding Jan. 6

Obama and Arne Duncan, Education Secretary, shooting some hoops

Update Jan. 6: See the video of Obama's remarks here.

Obama will speak at 1:35 pm eastern. It's likely to be live streamed at WhiteHouse.gov. Read the backgrounder here:

President Obama will announce a $250 million public-private effort Wednesday to improve science and mathematics instruction, aiming to help the nation compete in key fields with global economic rivals.

With funding from high-tech businesses, universities and foundations, the initiative seeks to prepare more than 10,000 new math and science schoolteachers over five years and provide on-the-job training for an additional 100,000 in science, technology, engineering and math.

.....Obama has sought to make science and math education a national cause. The $4 billion Race to the Top federal grant competition for education reform funding gives states bonus points for proposals that stress STEM instruction. Wednesday's announcement, described by administration officials and executives from businesses and foundations, shows a mobilization on several fronts.
WaPo

Read about Race to the Top, announced in July, here.

Read about the stimulus investment (spending) in education here.

Obama Speaks About Education July 24

Updated with video:

Obama speaks on education at 1:15 p.m. today. It's likely to be live streamed at cnn.com or msnbc.com.
This is probably what he'll be speaking about:

On Friday, Obama will officially announce the "Race to the Top," a competition for $4.35 billion in grants. He wants states to use funds to ease limits on charter schools, tie teacher pay to student achievement and move for the first time toward common academic standards. It is part of a broader effort to improve school achievement with a $100 billion increase in education funding, more money for community colleges and an increase in Pell Grants for college students.

Duncan has used the Race to the Top fund, created through the economic stimulus law, as leverage to drive the president's education agenda in Rhode Island, Tennessee, Colorado and elsewhere. Never has an education secretary been given so much money by Congress with such open-ended authority, according to current and former federal education officials. Margaret Spellings, Duncan's predecessor under George W. Bush, had a tiny fraction of that amount at her disposal.

Obama says stagnating student achievement is part of a "slow-rolling crisis" and represents a threat to the country's economic future. Stark achievement gaps remain for minority and low-income students. In some big cities, fewer than half of high school students graduate on time. The United States trails international competitors in math and science.

Here's a treat. Without using inflammatory words or sounding like a rabid Sarah Palin fan, Newt has something good to say about Obama's education reform plans AND the education secretary Arne Duncan. He also manages to criticize Obama in a civil manner. Hmmmmm. My guess is Newt wants in on this education reform. He also might've felt freer, figuring none of the republican base would be watching C-SPAN.