From the Desk of K. W. Maki, Superintendent

Race to the Top Funding – Montana Will Apply

On Thursday, March 11^th, Governor Schweitzer, State Superintendent Juneau, and the Board of Public Education announced that Montana will pursue funding by making application to the Department of Education for a Race to the Top grant.

Superintendent Juneau presented the following priorities for the grant application on the Office of Public Instruction website:

We want to use a high level of coloration to help all Montana students reach higher levels of academic achievement, reduce gaps in student academic performance, and ensure more students are career and college ready.

Montana’s Race to the Top proposal will target resources to schools based on their locally-identified needs.  If funded, these resources will be available to:

• Support continuous improvement and innovation in high performing schools,
• Build capacity in schools to increase academic achievement of students, and
• Support reform for those schools that have been unable to find their way to success to date.

Funding awarded to Montana would be used for education proposals primarily in four areas, including:

• Adopting or aligning standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace and to compete in the global economy
• Building data systems that measure student growth and success, and inform teachers and principals about how they can improve instruction  
• Transforming our lowest-achieving schools, and
• Recruiting, developing, rewarding, and retaining effective teachers and principals, especially where they are needed most

Additional Information:

Race to the Top Fund – United States Department of Education:  http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/index.html

Office of Public Instruction Homepage:  http://www.opi.mt.gov/index.html

Elementary and Secondary Education Act

The Obama Administration has released its blueprint for revising the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) to help states raise expectations of students and reward schools for producing dramatic gains in student achievement.

The blueprint provides incentives for states to adopt academic standards that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace and create accountability systems that measure student growth toward meeting the goal that all children graduate and succeed in college.

As the President said in his weekly radio and Internet address, “Unless we take action -- unless we step up -- there are countless children who will never realize their full talent and potential.  I don’t accept that future for them.  And I don’t accept that future for the United States of America.”

For more information   http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/blueprint/.

One step closer to common standards
As part of the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI), the draft K-12 standards are now available for public comment. These draft standards, developed in collaboration with teachers, school administrators, and experts, seek to provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare our children for college and the workforce.  

Governors and state commissioners of education from 48 states, 2 territories and the District of Columbia committed to developing a common core of state standards in English-language arts and mathematics for grades K-12. This is a state-led effort coordinated by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO).

The NGA Center and CCSSO have received feedback from national organizations representing, but not limited to teachers, postsecondary education (including community colleges), civil rights groups, English language learners, and students with disabilities. These standards are now open for public comment until Friday, April 2.

These standards define the knowledge and skills students should have within their K-12 education careers so that they will graduate high school able to succeed in entry-level, credit-bearing academic college courses and in workforce training programs. The standards are:

• Aligned with college and work expectations;
• Clear, understandable and consistent;
• Include rigorous content and application of knowledge through high-order skills;
• Build upon strengths and lessons of current state standards;
• Informed by other top performing countries, so that all students are prepared to succeed in our global economy and society; and
• Evidence-based.

See the standards: http://www.corestandards.org/Standards/K12/