WISCONSINREPORT.COM (03/04/2010) - Wisconsin is not among the top 15 Phase One finalists in the running for federal Race To The Top educational dollars. Some Badger State elected officials are saying the debate over what was required to qualify may have been a factor. A Milwaukee Assembly Representative says the announcement doesn't lend credence to the argument by some that the legislature must approve a Mayoral takeover of Milwaukee Public Schools. Governor Doyle blames it on the legislature and Milwaukee not wanting to make needed reforms. A Ripon legislator says there is a second chance coming.

The state submitted its first-round Race to the Top application earlier this year, focused on unique strategies to address three key areas of education based on consultations with local, regional and national education experts: (1) early childhood development; (2) addressing the achievement drop off between middle school and high school; and (3) developing good teachers and principals.

“The train is leaving the station. But because the Milwaukee School Board continues to cling to the status quo, and because the State Legislature has so far failed to make real reforms, Wisconsin is not on that train,” Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle said.

“Today’s announcement should be a wake up call to many. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has made it clear. The federal government will provide significant resources to states that are serious about reform. Milwaukee needs clear, consistent, accountable leadership focused on reform,” Governor Doyle said.

Wisconsin Assembly Representatives Tamara Grigsby (D-Milwaukee) and Christine Sinicki (D-Milwaukee) responded to the announcement that Wisconsin is not a Phase One finalist in the federal Race to the Top grant program.

“It is incredibly unfortunate that Wisconsin was not selected as a Phase One finalist in the Race to the Top competition,” Grigsby said.

“School districts throughout Wisconsin are pinching every penny in order to provide a superior education to our children and Race to the Top funds would be helpful in meeting that goal," Grigsby explained.

"While today’s announcement is disappointing, it in no way lends credence to the desperate argument that the legislature must approve a mayoral takeover of Milwaukee Public Schools," Grigsby went on.

"Governor Doyle is correct that U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has made it clear. Since the announcement of this competition, Secretary Duncan made it abundantly clear that mayoral takeover is in no way a factor when approving Race to the Top grants,” Grigsby added.

Grigsby cited statements made by Kate Walsh, president of the nonprofit National Council on Teacher Quality, who advised several states on their Race to the Top applications. As early as November 2009, Walsh and others made it clear that Secretary Duncan might only include a handful of states in Phase One of the Race to the Top competition.

“We cannot treat this as a reason to shout ‘fire’ in a crowded theatre,” Sinicki added.

“There are two rounds of competition for the Race to the Top program and I’m hopeful that we can review the suggestions made by Secretary Duncan and his department regarding our Phase One application, determine what’s best for Wisconsin, and move forward from there," Sinicki said.

"Our children deserve the best education possible and our schools need to stay on the path of reform, but we need to rely on proven reforms that will really improve the quality of education in Wisconsin. No one supports the status quo, but mayoral takeovers just don’t work,” said Sinicki.

Grigsby and Sinicki added that the 15 states selected as finalists were not surprising. Ten of the 15 states invited to visit Washington, D.C. received early assistance from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee all received early financial assistance from the Gates Foundation, which provided valuable professional support in the writing of the grant applications.

While two-thirds of the Phase One finalists received early support from the Gates Foundation, few finalists are states that have endorsed mayoral takeover. New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C. are the only finalists that have endorsed unilateral control of large urban school districts.

“It is clear that an endorsement of mayoral takeover was not the driving force behind the Race to the Top finalists announced today,” Sinicki said. “What Wisconsin needs to do most is move beyond the divisive politics of this issue and focus on working together in order to create true education reform.”

“Improving the quality of education in Milwaukee is one of my top priorities,” Grigsby added.

“We need to provide our children with the best education possible, which is the surest way to guarantee they become forward-looking participants in the global economy and that they have the good jobs which everyone in our state deserves. I continue to hope that all sides can come together to work toward that end,” Grigsby said.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin’s insincerity in education reform efforts has resulted in being cut from the list of states eligible for federal money under President Obama’s Race to the Top program, according to state Senator Luther Olsen (R-Ripon).

“Wisconsin turned in an application for the funds that the Education Department saw through,” said Olsen. “We didn’t have a chance at the money because we did not get serious about the reforms necessary to not only get the federal grants, but doing right by our students.”

Olsen says, the Race to the Top was designed by the Department of Education to push for improvement in four main educational areas; standards for college and workplace preparation, measurement of student growth and success, recruitment and retention of the best teachers and principals, and fixing failing schools.

“Wisconsin gave lip service to the reforms that they were looking for,” said Olsen. “We didn’t do anything to begin addressing the crisis in the Milwaukee Public Schools, and we made only a passing nod to tying student performance to teacher evaluation.”

Olsen points out that Wisconsin was one of only a handful of states that did not use student achievement as a factor in judging teacher performance. Under pressure from the teachers union Wisconsin passed legislation that made such a link the subject of collective bargaining, a move many saw as simply trying to avoid actual reform efforts.

“Playing these kinds of games with serious issues is not a sound strategy,” said Olsen. “We can’t pass legislation that pretends to satisfy requirements; we need to actually meet the requirements. The federal government is not treating these grants lightly, and neither should Wisconsin.”

Applications for second round of grants will be due in June, after the states who failed in the first round have received feedback from the federal government about why their applications fell short.

“Wisconsin would be wise to use this second chance to get serious about education reform,” said Olsen.