Smith Statement on South King County School Districts Winning $40 Million Grant from Department of Education
Washington,
Dec 12, 2012 -
On Tuesday, Seven South King County school districts collectively won a $40 million Race to the Top grant from the U.S. Department of Education. This tremendous achievement is the result of a coordinated effort between Auburn, Federal Way, Highline, Kent, Renton, Seattle, and Tukwila school districts and their partnership with the Road Map Project, which is a region-wide effort to bring together community organizations, government, universities, community colleges, school districts and others to advance K-12 student achievement and access to higher education.
“I want to congratulate each school district for recognizing the common challenges they face and working together with the Road Map Project to collectively solve them,” said Congressman Adam Smith. “This grant will provide funds for critical early learning programs, STEM education, and resources to improve access to higher education for students in South King County. At a time of limited federal resources, this remarkable coordinated effort to achieve a Race to the Top grant stands as a model for school districts across the country.”
Race to the Top is a national grant competition that helps drive states and school districts across the country to raise academic standards, use data more effectively, create innovative strategies to help schools, and generally improve our education system. These 7 South King County School districts were one of 16 winners chosen out of 372 applications nationwide, and were one of only two awardees that received the maximum $40 million dollar award.
