Race to the Top – District Competition

Posted by on August 19, 2013

FY 2013 RACE TO THE TOP – DISTRICT COMPETITION

Announcements

The Department is pleased to invite local educational agencies (LEAs) to apply for the FY 2013 Race to the Top—District competition. The Department encourages applicants to review the documents on this page and other Race to the Top—District pages to learn more about this year’s competition.

BACKGROUND
Race to the Top is authorized under sections 14005 and 14006 of the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The Race to the Top State competitions provided incentives to States to
adopt bold and comprehensive reforms in elementary and secondary education and laid the foundation for
unprecedented innovation. A total of 46 States and the District of Columbia put together plans to
implement college- and career-ready standards, use data systems to guide learning and teaching, evaluate
and support teachers and school leaders, and turn around their lowest-performing schools. The purpose of
the Race to the Top – District competition is to build on the momentum of other Race to the Top
competitions by encouraging bold, innovative reform at the local level. In the FY 2012 competition, the
Department awarded approximately $383 million to 16 Race to the Top – District grantees representing
55 local educational agencies (LEAs), with grants ranging from $10 to $40 million.

The Race to the Top – District competition invites applicants to demonstrate how they can personalize
education for all students in their schools. The Race to the Top – District competition is aimed squarely
at classrooms and the all-important relationship between educators and students. An LEA or consortium
of LEAs receiving an award under this competition will build on the experience of States and districts in
implementing reforms in the four core educational assurance areas (as defined in this notice) through
Race to the Top and other key programs. A successful applicant will provide teachers the information,
tools, and supports that will enable them to meet the needs of each student and substantially accelerate
and deepen each student’s learning. These LEAs will have the policies, systems, infrastructure, capacity,
and culture to enable teachers, teacher teams, and school leaders to continuously focus on improving
individual student achievement and closing achievement gaps. These LEAs will also make equity and
access a priority and aim to prepare each student to master the content and skills required for college- and
career-readiness, provide each student the opportunity to pursue a rigorous course of study, and accelerate
and deepen students’ learning through attention to their individual needs. As important, they will create
opportunities for students to identify and pursue areas of personal academic interest – all while ensuring
that each student masters critical areas identified in college- and career-ready standards or college- and
career-ready high school graduation requirements.

KEY DATES
• Technical Assistance Webinars: August and September 2013. Updates about all events will be
available on the Race to the Top – District website at http://www.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-district
• Intent to Apply Due: August 23, 2013
• Application Due: October 3, 2013
• Grant Award Announcement: December 2013

http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-district/index.html