STATE BILL COLORADO
Colorado recently was named a finalist for education-related stimulus funds dubbed “Race to the Top.” Here’s how media covered the news.
Education News Colorado: Colorado’s bid for $377 million in federal Race to the Top education stimulus funds was strong enough to land it among the 16 finalists, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced Thursday morning. Duncan said Colorado, Delaware, Washington, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Tennessee made the finalist cut. Forty states and the District of Columbia applied. Colorado is the only western state selected. More states were named finalists than many observers had expected. The states named Thursday will be invited to Washington the week of March 15 to make presentations. States that don’t make the cut can apply in a second round later this year.
Associated Press: Winners will be announced in April and losers can reapply for a second round later this year but there’s no guarantee finalists will win any money. Lt. Gov. Barbara O’Brien, who’s leading the effort, also announced that Gov. Bill Ritter has appointed members of a panel to recommend how teachers and administrators should be evaluated. Ritter created the panel with the backing of the state teacher’s union as part of the state’s application but has been criticized for moving too slowly to appoint its members.
The Pueblo Chieftain: Colorado is among 16 states still in the running for $377 million in Race to the Top funds from the U.S. Department of Education. Forty states had applied for shares of the $4.3 billion in available funds. Finalists were announced Thursday, and will present their proposals to a panel of reviewers in Washington, D.C., on March 15. Colorado Education Commissioner Dwight Jones and Lt. Gov. Barbara O’Brien will pitch the state’s plan.
