YAY! New York finally got it right! New York managed to win almost $700 million for schools this Tuesday when it was selected as one of the ten winners of the federal Race to the Top competition. This was a major victory for New York State schools and more importantly New York State school-children who stand to benefit the most from the winnings. New York lost out in the first round of Race to the Top primarily because of the cap on charter schools in the city.
Despite the push back from the state and city's teachers unions who were initially opposed to many of the proposed changes, most notably, increasing the number of charter schools and standards for evaluating teacher performance, success was finally realized. Among other things, this money will allow New York state to create an immense tracking system to monitor how students perform from kindergarten through college and standardized tests are also slated for revision.
Though New York City will receive only approximately $380 million of the federal prize winnings, officials acknowledged its significance. The additional funding will allow the city to make changes to its curriculum and state standards which will enable great things to happen as a result of those changes. The bigger picture suggests that the teachers unions may be softening their position or at the very least realize that change is on the horizon and charter schools are here to stay.
Kudos to New York State on a job well done! KISS YOUR BRAIN!
