Ruppersberger Congratulates Maryland on Winning “Race to the Top” Federal Grant Award

Program rewards Maryland for breaking new ground in public school education

(Washington, DC) – Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) today congratulated Maryland education leaders on winning Phase II of the “Race to the Top” grant competition, making the state eligible for $250 million in federal funds over the next four years. Half of those funds will flow directly to school districts to attract and maintain better teachers and reduce achievement gaps among students.

“Race to the Top” is the U.S. Department of Education’s $4.35 billion grant program to reward states that break new ground in public school innovation. The initiative is part of the federal government’s “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act” program, which Congressman Ruppersberger voted to support. The program emphasizes linking student achievement data to individual teachers and principals and turning around low-performing schools. Congressman Ruppersberger submitted a letter in support of Maryland’s application for the competition in May 2010.

“This unprecedented competition is based on the simple principle of whether or not a state is ready to do what works,” Congressman Ruppersberger said. “I strongly believe that these reforms are the right things to do so that all Maryland students can achieve. Education is not an expense, but an investment. This plan will enable our children to be competitive in the 21st century job market and help our economy grow. Tens of thousands of high-quality, high-tech jobs are coming to Maryland over the next decade, and we must prepare our students to take advantage of these tremendous opportunities.”

Competition was fierce, requiring states to propose bold plans to turn around persistently low-achieving schools, introduce new assessments to accurately reflect student progress, create new data systems, redesign capital systems so that tenure and compensation reflect academic progress and design new science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs.

Maryland was one of 35 states and the District of Columbia to submit an application for the competition’s second round and 10 to receive funding.