Gov. Chris Gregoire believes Washington has a chance to win $250 million from the federal government for education reform, but only if everyone involved in education — including the state’s 295 school districts — joins the campaign.
At a news conference Wednesday at Foster High School in Tukwila, the governor said she was sending a copy of the plan to every school district asking them to send it back with the superintendent’s signature.
The plan calls for higher academic standards, more preschool education and an emphasis on science and math. The state also has committed to adopting the national academic standards now in development, and will create financial incentives to get the best teachers and principals in rural, high-poverty and low-achieving schools.
At the same time, the president of the state’s largest teacher’s union said she would be making the rounds of local unions seeking their endorsement.
“Everybody has to be part of this game for us to qualify for Race to the Top,” the governor said. The states that brought teachers, parents and policymakers into the same room to plan their application were the ones that succeeded in the first round of the program, in her opinion.
Washington did not enter the first round, in which 40 states and the District of Columbia competed but only two states were given grants.
“We had work to do; we knew it. We did the work. We are serious about reform in Washington state,” the governor said. “Whether or not we receive Race to the Top funding, the only way Washington could lose in this effort is if we refuse to compete. That’s not how we do things in Washington state.”
Gregoire said she has learned a lot from the process and from carefully listening to what Education Secretary Arne Duncan has said in news conferences and interviews. The governor said she is convinced Washington is on the right track.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn agreed, despite his comments earlier in the process that the state wasn’t going far enough in its reform proposal. He said many of the ideas are already being tried in some districts, but the aim is to spread them throughout the state.
The second round winners are scheduled to be announced in September.
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