Applying for financial aid can be so time-consuming and confusing that some parents feel as though they need an advanced degree to fill out the forms.Indiana is not one of 16 finalists for the first round of the U.S. Department of Education's "Race to the Top" competition, missing out on hundreds of millions of dollars designed to improve schools.
Selected Thursday from a pool of 41 applicants are Ohio, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Tennessee. The winners will be chosen in April.
The money is part of President Obama's economic stimulus law and will provide $4.4 billion in school reform grants. In order to obtain the funding, states must be willing to dramatically transform low-performing schools and tie teacher evaluations to student achievement.
Many Indiana districts, including Fort Wayne Community Schools, were willing to make that commitment for a piece of the money, but apparently the Hoosier application didn't stack up.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett had said he was confident Indiana would be a recipient, even asking for $500 million – $250 million more than what the government said Indiana would stand to receive.
A second round of applications will be accepted in June.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
ksoderlund@jg.net
