Lawrence a winner in Race to the Top

Though New York state was awarded nearly $700 million through the federal Race to the Top program, money which will be earmarked by the state for education, only Five Towns local district will receive funding.

Approximately 10 percent of the state's school districts decided not to participate in Race to the Top, and Hewlett-Woodmere was one of them, according to a district spokeswoman, Barbara Giese.

"Race to the Top is diametrically opposed to everything we know about teaching and learning at its best," said Dr. Joyce Bisso, Hewlett's superintendent.

Assistant Superintendent for Business Peter Weber noted that "while the overall amount of the funding sounds like it would make for a large allocation, the amount Hewlett-Woodmere would receive would be small."

But the Lawrence School District, Deputy Superintendent Gary Schall said, is expected to receive "a little over $500,000" that is targeted for "staffing one way or another."

"Right now we are staffed for Sept. 7" -- the first day of school, Schall said, adding that the money could allow the district to staff an after-school program or perhaps a weekend exam-preparation class for either Regents or English Language Arts tests. "No decisions have been made," he said. "We are looking really carefully at where the money can be used most effectively to enhance programs." Schall also said that it was unclear when the district would receive the money.

The goal of Race to the Top is to encourage states to reform their schools and curriculums to become more competitive. To do this, states are adopting tougher standards (as evidenced by New York's changing the standards for its state tests), linking teacher evaluations with student performance and more accurately tracking student progress.

"I am proud to announce that ... New York State has been awarded $696,646,000 in Race to the Top Round II stimulus education funding," Gov. David Paterson said in a release. "During these difficult economic times, this funding will go a long way to ensure that our state's children are given greater opportunity and access to a quality education. This new funding will help provide the foundation for academic success and the emergence of a new generation of leaders and achievers for New York State."

New York was one of only nine states, along with the District of Columbia, that was awarded money in the Department of Education-run initiative. The other winners were Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio and Rhode Island, New York and Florida were awarded the greatest amount of funding.

"I was confident that if we all came together, we could transform our state's educational policies to enrich the learning experience for all students, while bolstering our application for this extremely competitive grant program," said state Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer (D-Mamaroneck), chairwoman of the Senate's Education Committee.

New York lost out on the first round of Race to the Top money because the Legislature would not raise the cap on the number of charter schools allowed in the state. Legislators managed to work together for the second round, raising the charter school cap and passing other initiatives, including linking teacher evaluations to student performance, something it had to work with teachers' unions to achieve.

"The goal of the Race to the Top program is to raise student achievement based on innovative reforms," said U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy. "I am pleased to have supported New York state's application, and I am delighted that this funding will be coming into the state. During a time when many local communities are being forced to make cuts in education, this funding will help to ensure that we can improve the quality of our children's education."