Race to the Top 101 - How Tennessee Won the National Competition and What Happens Next | Page 3

Taking Note

• Clarifying the authority of the commissioner of the state Department of
Education to take over persistently failing schools and creating a new state-run
“Achievement School District” in which
to group failing schools.
Within days, the state Senate passed the
First to the Top Act with a vote of 29-3 and
the House of Representatives followed suit
83-10. Bredesen signed the measure into law
on January 16 — three days before the state’s
Race to the Top application was due in Washington. The college completion bill passed
several days later.
“With these new laws in place, we’ve now got
a landmark opportunity to move Tennessee public education forward in a dramatic and positive
direction,” the governor said in a late-January
ceremonial bill signing.20 Two months later, the
state prevailed in its Race to the Top bid.

Looking Ahead
Following Tennessee’s Race to the Top win,
state and local officials began what promised
to be a long process for implementing reforms.
Education Commissioner Tim Webb convened

3

August 2010

meetings with local school board members,
superintendents and teachers from across the
state. Each of Tennessee’s 136 school systems
drafted plans to spend their share of the federal dollars. The Teacher Evaluation Advisory
Committee began considering details of a new
evaluation framework. Additionally, the governor appointed 14 Tennesseans to a separate
panel, the First to the Top Advisory Council,
to provide strategic guidance and direction in
overall efforts.21
National and international education experts
offered support — and warned that the process
of implementing reforms would be difficult. Sir
Michael Barber, founding director of the Education Delivery Institute and an advisor to former
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, spoke at a
SCORE Institute gathering in early May, and
issued a caution to some 80 key education
leaders from across the state.
“It’s easy in politics to think that getting
the policy right is 90 percent and implementation is the 10 percent that will be taken care of
afterwards,” Barber told the assembled crowd.
Not so, he said. “The bigger challenge is the
challenge that lies ahead. The part ahead is the
harder part.”22

Tennessee’s Race to the Top —
Summing Up
• $500 million in federal funds
over four years
• Half of funds go to local school
systems; remaining funds go toward
statewide expenses such as teacher
professional development
• All 136 school systems signed on
• Core reform areas:
› Adopting higher standards
› Using student data to improve
instruction
› Focusing on effective teachers
and principals
› Turning around lowest-achieving
schools
• New state law requiring that
50 percent of teacher evaluations
must be based on student
achievement, including 35 percent
using TVAAS
• State-run Achievement School
District to take over failing schools

1

White House fact sheet, “The Race to the Top: Promoting Innovation, Reform, and Excellence in America’s Public Schools,” undated.
www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/RTT_factsheet.pdf.

2

Remarks by the President on Race to the Top at Graham Road Elementary School, Falls Church, Va., Jan. 19, 2010.
www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-race-top-graham-road-elementary-school.

3

“The Race to the Top Begins — Remarks by Secretary Arne Duncan,” July 24, 2009. www2.ed.gov/news/speeches/2009/07/07242009.html.

4

Valerie Strauss, The Washington Post’s Answer Sheet blog, “Race to the Top winners chosen arbitrarily – new report,” April 21, 2010.
voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/race-to-the-top/race-to-top-winners-chosen-arb.html.

5

Diane Ravitch, Los Angeles Times, “The Big Idea—it’s bad education policy,” March 14, 2010. articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/14/opinion/la-oe-ravitch14-2010mar14.

6

Former Sen. Bill Frist, “Race to the Top swiftly changes education dynamic,” USA Today, March 31, 2010.
www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/2010-03-31-column31_ST1_N.htm.

7

Harold E. Ford Jr., Louis V. Gerstner, Eli Broad, The Wall Street Journal, “Race to the Top in Education: We can get real reform if the president resists pressure to dilute standards,” Nov. 24,
2009. online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704500604574483473296731550.html.

8

Tennessee Race to the Top Application for Initial Funding, pages 17-18, Jan. 19, 2010. www.tn.gov/education/doc/TN_RTTT_Application_2010_01_18.pdf.

9

Federal transcript, “Secretary Duncan’s Press Conference Call on Race to the Top Phase 1 Winners,” March 29, 2010.
www2.ed.gov/news/av/audio/2010/03/03292010.doc.

10 Michelle

McNeil, Education Week’s Politics K-12 Blog, “Gates Gives 15 States an Edge in Race to the Top,” Aug. 12 2009.
blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2009/08/gates_gives_15_states_an_edge.html.

11 Tennessee
12 The

Diploma Project Web site, www.tennessee.gov/education/TDP/index.shtml.

Tennessee Journal, “Assembly closes with action on charter schools, ethics merger,” June 19, 2009.

13 Jane

Roberts, The Commercial Appeal, “Memphis City Schools accepts $90 million Gates Foundation grant,” Nov. 18, 2009.
www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/nov/18/memphis-city-schools-formally-accepts-90-million-g/?print=1.

14 Thomas

W. Carroll, Manhattan Institute City Journal, “Who’s Winning the Race to the Top?” Feb. 26, 2010. www.city-journal.org/2010/eon0226tc.html.

15 U.S.

Department of Education, “Race to the Top Program Executive Summary,” page 9, November 2009.
www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/executive-summary.pdf.

16 U.S.

Department of Education, “States’ Applications, Scores and Comments for Phase 1,” undated. www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/phase1-applications/index.html.

17 Gov.

Phil Bredesen, “Address to the General Assembly—Special Session on Education,” Jan. 12, 2010.
www.tennesseeanytime.org/governor/viewArticleContent.do?id=1448

18 The

Tennessee Journal, “Bredesen will give legislators a week to pass education reform,” Dec. 18, 2009.

19 Tennessee

Education Association letter of support, Tennessee Race to the Top Application for Initial Funding, Appendix A, page A-27, Jan. 19, 2010.
www.tn.gov/education/doc/TN_RTTT_Appendix_A.pdf.

20 Tom

Humphrey, Knoxville News Sentinel’s Humphrey on the Hill blog, “Governor Holds Education Bill Signing Ceremony,” Jan. 26, 2010.
blogs.knoxnews.com/humphrey/2010/01/governor-holds-education-bill.html.

21 Governor’s

Office news release, “Bredesen Appoints Tennessee First to the Top Advisory Council,” June 21, 2010.
www.tennesseeanytime.org/governor/viewArticleContent.do?id=1512.

22 Video,

SCORE Institute kickoff, May 11, 2010. www.tnscore.org.

SCORE

www.tnscore.org