Race to the top for Education Reform - Competition Opens

If you haven't heard about the "Race to the Top Fund" and competition that is being organized by the U.S. Department of Education, then stay tuned. It is all part of the way our government can improve our country's educational accessment and improve math and reading skills, provide teachers with more useful instructional information, and then measure their effectiveness and how well the students are performing.

The Department has officially applied, as of today, for more than $4.35 billion from the Race to the Top program, which was established under the American Recovery and reinvestment Act. This will reward those states that have rasied student performance in the past and have the capacity to accelerate achievement by using innovative reforms. Every state is different of course.

Of the funds, $350 million will be reserved to help states create assessments that are alligned to a common set of standards, and the remaining $4 billion will be awarded in a natioanl competition. Ergo the name Race to the Top.

The final application also requires multiple measures to evaluate teachers with a huge emphasis on the growth in achievement of their students. It also reinforces that successful applicants will need strict teacher/principal evaluation programs, to inform what happens in the schools.

I enjoy my charity work for both Children of the City and the Joe DiMaggio Committee, which raises money to provide a good education for children of financially challenged families. Our fund raising event, the Joe DiMaggio Award Gala, benefits Xaverian High School, my alma mater. You can read more about it on my website at http://www.roccobasile.net/

It seems that Xaverian has already figured out a great system, that could serve as an example for the rest of teh country's "Race to the Top" program. This school offers the best secondary education for students with learning disabilities. Its Ryken Program serves as the model for the New York State Regents for all such endeavors. Xaverian has a tradition of serving young men from disadvantaged backgrounds, boys with learning disabilities and students that are in financial need.

In the meantime, let the race begin. Our country's youth deserve Race to the Top.

--Rocco Basile