Race To The Top Early Learning Challenge: $133 Million More Available To States

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration has announced that five states that were finalists in an earlier competition for millions in federal dollars to improve early learning programs will be able to compete for a new pot of money.

Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico, Oregon and Wisconsin are eligible for a share of $133 million in new "Race to the Top" funding. The winnings are intended to help build statewide systems that affect all early learning programs such as child care, Head Start centers and public or private preschools.

Late last year, nine states won a collective $500 million for early learning programs. Thirty-five states along with the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico had applied.

The contest is administered by the Education and Health and Human Services departments.

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Comments

[noshortcuts]

12:27 AM on 04/17/2012

Having various races to the top is a way of saying the Feds really don't care enough to grant every needy state a fair share. Making it a contest serves to tell all the losers that they just weren't worthy enough. What a bunch of bull. Just like selling lottery tickets to entice more gambling. Makes Obama look cheap. Few winners, many losers, and lots of wasted time and energy. Not good for building respect in our govt.

[lhaver]

07:46 AM on 04/12/2012

Why is Obama's education program so obsessed with competition? And just who is competing here? What are the criteria for getting the money? Showing that some kids deserve it but not others?
This administration should be committed to funding ALL early education programs. They are a major factor in predicting success for students.

[jotwil]

01:09 PM on 04/11/2012

Why are we not ALL in this race? Wake up People!!!! Change and competition is a GOOD thing in education.....and I am AMAZED at the lack of positive thinking that some of these posts exhibit regarding education in general. No wonder our country is suffering. Priorities are all about the money and what is WRONG with the system.......that kind of thinking leads to nothing good......

[lmwj]

12:32 PM on 04/11/2012

Good ole barry thinks he can buy anything with OPM! Too bad the kids won't benefit from it! By the time it were to get to them it would only be enough to buy a couple of pencils! Guess he doesn't know they can't vote yet!

[MayFlower27]

11:59 AM on 04/11/2012

and they still do not have books?

[Rosied2u]

11:15 AM on 04/11/2012

Last year only 35 states applied? Why don't all states apply? Seems to me ALL states could use a boost in the education department.

[noslices]

08:28 AM on 04/11/2012

In Wisconsin, the money will probably go to the teacher's union to be used to get rid of Scott Walker, even though the schools currently have more money to work with than they did. One school district saved more than $1,000,000.00 by not having to buy their health insurance from the union. A private health care provider gave them better insurance for way less money.

[rbrady6925]

08:31 AM on 04/11/2012

It's not more money...it's attendance. Here, they beg kids to go to school...someone offered to PAY them to attend. Teachers aren't teachers for the money...they are earnest to teach. Get off teachers' backs. It's the parents and kids.

[mrbradw1961]

01:53 PM on 04/11/2012

Whatever. If the teachers would stop shoving their liberal views down the students throats, the parents might just be intersted in letting them attend that public school instead of a private school that doesn't resort to underhanded things that the dems do to brainwash our kids.

[hman570]

07:47 AM on 04/11/2012

Learning starts at home. All the tax dollars the politicians give away to the states don't get to the schools it gose into the pockets of the currupt politicians. They get these sums of money to give to states just to make themsleves look good. The truth of the matter is our government don't want an educated population, it that were to happen they the politicians would be out of a job.

[Rosied2u]

11:17 AM on 04/11/2012

Wow. Your poor spelling and grammer goes to show you that we need a better system.

[hman570]

01:22 PM on 04/11/2012

Tinks for listing mees knows thats me aint to smart. I hop you ares betters them smarts peoples.

[dlb1443]

07:30 AM on 04/11/2012

I bet the GOP is upset about this they could of used this money for the 1%

[vollenhouse]

11:06 AM on 04/10/2012

Yes! Let's get these toddlers "racing to the top!" Turn 'em off young!! Test! Test! Test!

dumpduncan.org

[stopnlisten]

09:51 AM on 04/10/2012

The only thing I am against in the Obama administration is the hiring of Arne Duncan. Bad call. Bad advisor.

[Justtheobvious]

07:28 AM on 04/10/2012

The GOPrs will just garnish it to give their corporate buddies more tax breaks.

[DIgnified]

04:05 AM on 04/10/2012

Indoctrination is the most important part of a balanced drone, after all. Hook 'em early...wait, wrong motto.

[urnmyopinion]

02:42 AM on 04/10/2012

Oregon has raised taxes so much for schools, it also gets a percentage from the Oregon lottery and has for years. But they keep shutting schools down, laying teachers off, cutting class time and the list goes on and on. So they should prove where the money is going to benefit the kids and not to the administrators.

[Justtheobvious]

07:29 AM on 04/10/2012

Same in my state. The lottery is supposed to help fund schools and coincidently the lottery has never been more profitable and schools have never been closed faster.

[katieandtom]

11:29 AM on 04/10/2012

same here -

[noslices]

08:24 AM on 04/11/2012

When the lottery came to CA, half the income was supposed to go to the schools. What officials DIDN'T tell us was that the state would not be giving the schools the funding that they had been giving them out of the budget, so the schools didn't get any more than they had been getting. Look at CA's financial situation now. Maybe they should have more than one lottery......oh wait, they have lotteries every day and they are still bankrupt.

[cccoyote]

02:16 AM on 04/10/2012

The question being, how much will make it into the classroom in the form of teaching and tools vs the amount absorbed by the administrations.

[urnmyopinion]

02:44 AM on 04/10/2012

most all the money for schools, fireman, and policeman and that go into the pension fund called PERS. They also spent the money set aside for this program..

[oldwolf49]

02:59 AM on 04/10/2012

Exactly, with administration costs, administrator salaries, administrator suits and cars, waste.

[cccoyote]

03:08 AM on 04/10/2012

Washington State salary comparison:

http://wwwb.thenewstribune.com/databases/school_pay/index.php

Just change "position" to see different earnings.

Interesting how even "Other support personnel" is a higher pay than a secondary teacher.