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| RACE To The Top: What does it Mean for TRIO Professionals? |
In 2009, President Obama, along with U. S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, announced the Administration’s education reform initiative. President Obama challenged America’s governors, educators, parents, businesspersons, and others to set and enforce rigorous, challenging standards and assessments for education that would help students outcompete workers globally.
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A major component of the President’s education reform initiative is the “Race to the Top Fund,” wherein states must qualify for a portion of $4.35 billion in competitive grants to support education reform and innovation in classrooms.
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Essentially, Race to the Top will reward states based on their ability to meet key benchmarks for reform as determined by the current Administration. States that outperform the rest will be rewarded with a grant. President Obama acknowledged that there will be winners and losers in the competition, but America’s children will be better for it.
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Will America’s children be better off under the proposed Race to the Top reforms? What does Race to the Top Mean for TRIO programs participants and professionals? These questions were posed to Dr. Arnold Mitchem, President of the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE), in a recent telephone interview.
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When asked what type of impact Race to the Top will have on TRIO programs, Dr. Mitchem said, “It won’t have any effect on TRIO Programs, but it will affect the people that we serve and care about.”
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Dr. Mitchem was then asked to share his personal thoughts on Race to the Top. “Race to the Top is discriminatory. It is another example of how this Administration has abandoned equal education opportunity. Low income students are in every state. The Administration assumes that programs that win are effective and those who lose are not, but that isn’t correct.” Dr. Mitchem cited the recent SSS grant competition as an analogy of the kind of incorrect assumption made by Administration in awarding Race to the Top grants to states.
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Dr. Mitchem commented, “The “Race to the Top is a very problematic approach and I feel the Administration has abandoned equal educational opportunity as set aside in the 1960s.” The Race to the Top both surprises and distresses Dr. Mitchem, who thinks they’re (Obama Administration) is standing Civil Rights on its head; especially when educational opportunity policy was shaped and driven by the Civil Rights Movement.
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Finally, we as TRIO Professionals should make every effort to stay informed about Race to the Top and how we can best work to ensure that the participants we serve are prepared to compete and succeed in the global arena.
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