WCSD is ready to Race to the Top

You may have heard about a new pool of money that the Obama administration has made available for education funding. “Race to the Top” funding is structured as a competitive U.S. Education Department grant that is open to State Education Departments across the country. New York State is eligible to receive up to $700 Million in funds which would allow us to accelerate our combined efforts to improve education across the state.

To qualify for Race to the Top funding, states are required to advance reforms in four specific areas:

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

This is great news for us here at Watervliet City Schools, as these goals are right on target with what our administrative team has been working towards during my time with the district. I am very pleased to see our new Commissioner, David M. Steiner and the State Education Department take this strong and decisive step toward fulfilling our promise to the young people of New York State.

New York is addressing the Race to the Top challenge through a cohesive plan that leverages and aligns our state resources and practices to improve education outcomes for all our students and close gaps in achievement. This application submitted to the United States Education Department is truly in line with the Mission Statement of the Watervliet City School District. High expectations are the cornerstone of our program and the Race to the Top proposal truly sets the expectations of our schools very high.

Some might think that school districts would shy away from this proposal and run from the level of accountability and the height of expectations that the Race to the Top proposal sets. We in Watervliet will not. In fact, I say “bring it on!” and I do so with the full support of the Watervliet Teachers’ Association and our Board of Education. We all fully embrace this challenge and thank Commissioner Steiner for his efforts and his confidence that we in the local school districts can win this “Race to The Top.”