PROVIDENCE - Three years ago, amid great fanfare, Rhode Island announced that it was one of 12 states to win a $75 million federal education grant called Race to the Top.
At the Rhode Island Foundation Monday night, state education commissioner Deborah A. Gist updated members of the Race to the Top steering committee on the progress of the grant.
To date, Rhode Island has spent $44.4 million, of which $21 million was awarded to local districts, according to Gist spokesman Elliot Krieger The grant allowed RIDE to hire 22 staff to develop and roll out the new programs.
Although the grant money was equally divided between the state and local districts, the funds were not open-ended. The money must be used to support the state's broader initiatives: teacher evaluations, an induction program for new teachers, interim student assessments and training teachers to work with the new national academic standards called the Common Core.
Rhode Island's agenda was very ambitious, educators say. Last year alone, the state's school districts adopted rigorous (and controversial) new teacher evaluations, which, for the first time, include how well students perform.
The state has also trained 5,700 teachers on the transition to the Common Core, a set of academic standards developed by the state governors association and originally embraced by 47 states, although several have recently abandoned the effort.
The grant money has also been used to expand two charter schools, Paul Cuffee in Providence and the International Charter School in Pawtucket. Start-up money was offered to Village Green, one of two virtual charter schools opening next month, and Achievement First Mayoral Academy, the first non-local charter in Rhode Island.