D.C., Md. win 'Race for the Top' grants

Update, 11:40 a.m.

Maryland and the District of Columbia joined eight states as winners of $3.4 billion in coveted education grants, federal officials said Tuesday morning.

The other winners in the second round of President Obama’s Race to the Top were Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Rhode Island, said Education Department spokesman Justin Hamilton.

The department was briefing lawmakers and governors this morning. There was no immediate word on how much money each winner will receive.

The competition, funded through the 2009 economic stimulus law, has generated enormous interest across the country in efforts to improve education. It puts a premium on ideas to link student achievement data to individual teachers and principals, as well as creating public charter schools, adopting common national standards and turning around low-performing schools.

In the first round of grants, announced in March, Delaware was awarded $100 million and Tennessee $500 million.

Tuesday’s announcement is for a second round of grants.

Among the second-round finalists that failed to win funding were California, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey and South Carolina.
Virginia finished far out of the running in the first round and did not compete in the second.

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U.S. Education Department officials announced Tuesday morning that Maryland and the District of Columbia, along with eight other states, have won $3.4 billion in education grants through the Race to the Top, education initiative.

Stay with PostNow for more details.

--Nick Anderson