Here are the points Kentucky's Race to the Top application received (green) and missed (peach) in the recent competition:
The lowest-scoring state funded was Ohio with 440.8 of 500 points. Kentucky's score was 412.4, meaning we would have needed 28.5 more points to pull past their results and into the money.
Charter schools and other innovative only offered 40 points, and we received all eight points offered for "other" approaches. Could Kentucky have expected more than 16 or 20 more points for charter legislation that had not yet produced any functioning charters? That looks very unlikely, which means that passing a charter bill last spring would not have changed the outcome.
What now?
We implement the standards, and we deliver for Kentucky's children. We do what's necessary, including finding the needed dollars for the needed change. Let's get to work.
We'll never know if having a charter school law would have been enough because our leaders didn't even try. They took a gamble that the rest of the application was strong enough to get the funding without charters. Lo and behold, it fell short in a number of area. I was hoping, despite evidence to the contrary, that KY's gamble would pay off. I'll cling to the hope that funding will come from other sources but as Benjamin Franklin said, "He that lives upon hope will die fasting." Sorry KY kids.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that the Charter School issue has dominated this process, yet would benefit very few children in a largely rural state like KY. I say we continue to aim for high standards and best teaching practices for ALL children. It's a noble and worthy goal to do so, and it should be our sole purpose.
ReplyDeleteLet me get this straight. KY leaders didn't pursue charter school legislation because it wouldn't help enough students. This guaranteed ALL of our children lost out on RTTT funding. I don't see how this was noble or worthy.
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