Nearly 40 Ohio School Districts Plan to Apply for $400-Million New Race to the Top Grants
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The new Race to the Top competition encourages schools to "personalize" education.
Thirty-nine Ohio school districts, charter schools and other groups have said they plan to apply for some of the $400 million the federal U.S. Department of Education will hand out under district-level Race to the Top grants.
These Race to the Top grants will reward districts for “personalizing” education, having a vision for reform and being successful in the past. Districts will also get bonus points for partnering with other groups — public or private — to provide other services like after-school or counseling programs.
This round of grants comes on top of previous state-level Race to the Top grants. (Ohio got $400 million that time around.)
That earlier round of Race to the Top awarded states money to encourage states to enact education policies to improve teacher and principal evaluations and preparation programs, turn around low-performing schools, and promote the growth of high-performing charter schools and to adopt the Common Core.
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This time around, the Ohio applicants potentially asking for the biggest pieces of the pie include the Cleveland and Parma school districts, the Montgomery County Educational Service Center and an organization called the Initiative for America’s Youth Families & Community.
That last organization doesn’t turn up in a search of Ohio Secretary of State business filings or on the IRS’s list of Ohio tax-exempt organizations.
Other Ohio potential applicants include the Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Westerville school districts and charter schools Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT) and Ohio Virtual Academy.
Nationwide, 893 districts and other entities said they plan to apply.
Caveats: Not all will actually apply, not all may actually be eligible and not all that do apply will actually win grants. The Department of Education expects to award 15-25 grants by December.
That means competition will be very, very stiff, Education Week’s Michele McNeil says.
Potential Ohio Applicants for Race to the Top District Competition (And Amount Each May Request)
District | $5-10 million | $10-20 million | $20-30 million | $30 - 40 million |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akron Public Schools | 1 | |||
| Allen County Educational Service Center | 1 | |||
| Austintown Local School District | 1 | |||
| Buckeye Local School District | 1 | |||
| Chardon Local School District | 1 | |||
| Cincinnati City School District | 1 | |||
| Cincinnati State STEM Academy | 1 | |||
| Cleveland Municipal School District | 1 | |||
| Clyde-Green Springs Exempted Village School District | 1 | |||
| Columbus City Schools | 1 | |||
| Coventry Local Schools | 1 | |||
| Crestview Local Schools | 1 | |||
| District Not Provided | 1 | |||
| Eaton Community Schools | 1 | |||
| Educational Service Center of Cuyahoga County | 1 | |||
| Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow | 2 | |||
| Findlay City Schools | 1 | |||
| Gallia-Vinton Educational Service Center | 1 | |||
| Hamilton City School District | 1 | |||
| Hamilton Local School District | 1 | |||
| Hilliard City Schools | 1 | |||
| Initiative for America's Youth Families & Community | 1 | |||
| Lancaster City Schools | 1 | |||
| Montgomery County Educational Service Center | 1 | |||
| Ohio Virtual Academy | 1 | |||
| Parma City School District | 1 | |||
| Perkins Local School District | 1 | |||
| Piqua City Schools | 1 | |||
| Scioto Valley Local Schools | 1 | |||
| Springfield City School District | 1 | |||
| Springfield Local Schools | 1 | |||
| Tallmadge City Schools | 1 | |||
| The Childrey Deliverance Foundation | 1 | |||
| The Leona Group L.L.C. | 1 | |||
| TRECA Digital Academy | 1 | |||
| Tri-Rivers Education Computer Association | 1 | |||
| Twin Valley Community Local School District | 1 | |||
| Westerville City Schools | 1 | |||
| Willoughby-Eastlake City School District | 1 | |||
| Ohio - Statewide | 22 | 7 | 7 | 4 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education | Download Data
