"Being ranked No. 1 in the nation by Education Week isn't going to be enough to give Maryland a good chance at the $250..."

So that means we Marylanders are in a Race-to-the-Over-the-Top?

One of the major problems with this funding, like all federal funding, is the Race to the Top funding is not permanent. The monies must be reapplied for.
If they are not refunded by the feds in a few years what will happen to any programs started by Race to the Top money if the money is not there in a few years?
Can the state afford to make up any shortfall in federal funding?
We as a state are already meeting with success...why allow the federal government to dictate what we do in Maryland?
Shouldn't they (the US department of education) look to Maryland for answers, and not be telling us what we should do?

It is short sighted to seek temporary funding if we can not make up any short falls now or in the future. Look what just went through the Senate - Teacher Pensions are being pushed back to county governments. If we can't pay promised pensions, then why seek temporary money which may just exacerbate the problem?
There doesn't seem to be any vision here, just prostitution.

@MCStran You are absolutely correct here! This has been the pattern for school improvement funds for years now! I worked at Woodlawn MS during its restructuring period when there were huge amounts of $$ being pumped in to recruit and hold onto good teachers ($5000/yr stipend), ($2000/yr bonus for APC holders), reduce class sizes, increase technology, and train STEM area teachers on site for a full year. All of that money dried up and the school lost 20 poisitions. Class sizes went through the roof and teachers left.

As for Md being ranked #1, the feds know that this is political BS and can't be used as an objective measure. As for moving good teachers into the worst schools - good luck with that! Good teachers in tough schools are leaving the profession in mass because they are fed up with massive challenges, weak administrators,even weaker parents and students who don't perform despite their efforts.

The politicians who think that tying test scores to teacher pay need to spend some time in the classroom and see that the best teachers are already in the toughest schools - if they aren't good, the students eat them alive with horrific behavior. Many of the worst teachers are in some of the highest performing schools. Students show respect because they have been taught this by parents who care. They tolerate boring instruction, get tutors, do independent work using internet resources and perform at high levels because they know that blaming a poor teacher isn't going to get them into college. This is a value instilled at home and not at school. Maybe we should reward strong parents who support their kids and schools with some federal $$!

MCStran - Your observations are interesting, but I want to offer you a different perspective. The Education Week and College Board rankings suggest that all is rosy in MD, but that is FAR from the case. We need to do a lot to improve our schools. Although we have the highest percentage of students in the nation passing APs, they are clustered in 3 counties. In Baltimore City about 2% of students have taken and passed an AP at graduation. In my opinion, that's a civil rights violation. So yes, in some senses we are at the top, but that doesn't mean we should laud ourselves, or declare that we should be emulated. Maryland won't truly have a remarkable education system until the great education available in Montgomery and Howard counties is available in all schools to all children. The challenge in MD is not necessarily to increase achievement but to close the achievement gap between wealthy and poor districts, and I think that's probably what our Race to the Top proposal will focus on.

Also, think about it this way, the US Dept of Ed is not telling us what to do - they are asking us for the plan. Our policy makers know what is feasible in our state, and they're the ones considering options. This isn't the federal government dictating mandates to states.

I agree that it is problematic that we are being asked to create long term reform with short-term funds. Hopefully the people putting together the proposals are looking at costs 3/5/10 years down the line, because throwing money at something is a short term fix that will soon fall apart.

@MCStran: We as a state are not meeting with success. When half of Baltimore doesn't graduate from high school and whole groups of the population hit 20% unemployment, we're not even close to success.

@realteacher: I really like your point about great teaching in tough schools. I teach and I used to bemoan the common stereotype that hordes of great teachers leave the cities but I no longer believe that. I think tough schools have significantly better instruction, but the deficit is so high our best efforts aren't enough - yet.

How does my firm apply for, submit proposals for grants and contracts for the Maryland RTTP?

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