Georgia a finalist for Race to the Top school funds

By Kristina Torres

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced Thursday that Georgia is one of 16 finalists for a piece of the Obama administration's new Race to the Top education fund, which is worth up to $4 billion to states that embrace education reform.

Georgia is estimated to be eligible for up to a $400 million grant from the fund, although the state's application -- submitted in January -- requests approximately $460 million.

As a finalist, Georgia has earned a chance to make a face-to-face pitch for the money during the week of March 15. Winners will be announced in the first week of April. Duncan repeated Thursday that being a finalist does not guarantee any cash, although that did not stop Gov. Sonny Perdue from touting the state's potential.

"Georgia's at the dance," Perdue said in an afternoon briefing, throwing out "March Madness" and "Sweet 16″ references in deference to Duncan, a former pro player. State schools Superintendent Kathy Cox also cheered the news.

Georgia's 200-page application concentrates on four key areas: standards and assessment; data systems to support instruction; "great" teachers and leaders; and turning around the lowest-achieving schools. In it, officials tout efforts over the past decade to overhaul Georgia's school curriculum, unify learning initiatives and test boundaries with a nationally rated charter school law.

According to the application, state officials want to create a new office -- the State Office of School Turnaround -- to concentrate on low-performing schools. They would improve local and statewide student data systems to track students' academic progress in real time.

The state's most controversial proposal would tie teachers' pay to how well they teach, not years on the job or level of education. A bill to that effect is in committee at the state Legislature but has been overshadowed by proposed budget cuts. It is also unpopular with teachers, in no small part because officials have not yet figured out what specific benchmarks they must meet.

Whether or not the law passes, 23 of the state's 181 local school systems -- representing 41 percent of all public school students -- have committed to be the first to implement reform efforts, including the pay plan. The public school systems for the city of Atlanta and Cherokee, Clayton, DeKalb and Gwinnett counties are among them.

Georgia was one of 40 states and the District of Columbia that applied for the grants. The other finalists are Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Other states not chosen in the first round can try again, with a second round of applications due June 1.