Obama Defends Race to Top
President Barack Obama is forcefully defending his signature education initiative, the $4.35 billion Race to the Top program, which has come under fire from civil rights groups that worry the competitive nature of the program creates a system of winners and losers that could hinder schools serving poor and minority students.
In a speech Thursday to the National Urban League in Washington, the president offered a rebuttal to such criticism, saying the steps the program encourages states to take, including lifting caps on charter schools and using student data to inform teacher evaluation, are the right ones. He called the initiative “the single most important thing we’ve done” on education.
“I know there’s a concern that Race to the Top doesn’t do enough for minority kids, because the argument is, well, if there’s a competition, then somehow some states or some school districts will get more help than others,” Mr. Obama said. “Let me tell you, what’s not working for black kids and Hispanic kids and Native American kids across this country is the status quo....
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