States

South Carolina’s Race to Top: Post-Game Analysis

March 16, 2010 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Two down. Fourteen more to go.

South Carolina and Florida were the first Race to the Top finalists to make presentations to judges this morning at the U.S. Department of Education.

In a post-game call with a few reporters, Jim Rex, South Carolina’s schools chief, said the 90-minute session was “comprehensive and rigorous,” with lots of detailed questions and requests for clarification from the reviewers hearing the state’s pitch for a share of the $4 billion in economic-stimulus grants. Confidentiality agreements kept Mr. Rex from disclosing any specific queries that came from the judges. The superintendent said the judges on the five-member review panel introduced themselves and that some of them had “national expertise.” He also said that some of the panel members, who’ve been cloaked in anonymity to the public, were familiar to him.

Mr. Rex (who, by the way, is running for governor) expressed confidence that his team’s session had gone well, and he boasted that “we weren’t sponsored by any particular foundation,” obviously referring to South Carolina being one of only two finalist states (Delaware is the other) that did not receive a $250,000 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to help prepare its application. South Carolina also didn’t receive an invitation from the Aspen Institute to rehearse its presentation, as some states did.

“We didn’t have a high-priced consultant,” he said. “This is our proposal. We own it.”

Overall, Mr. Rex had high praise for the Race to the Top application process, saying that the in-person interviews were a necessary part of a process that includes “a lot of money and potentially a transformational opportunity for the country.”

A version of this news article first appeared in the State EdWatch blog.

Events

Student Well-Being Webinar After-School Learning Top Priority: Academics or Fun?
Join our expert panel to discuss how after-school programs and schools can work together to help students recover from pandemic-related learning loss.
Budget & Finance Webinar Leverage New Funding Sources with Data-Informed Practices
Address the whole child using data-informed practices, gain valuable insights, and learn strategies that can benefit your district.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Classroom Technology Webinar
ChatGPT & Education: 8 Ways AI Improves Student Outcomes
Revolutionize student success! Don't miss our expert-led webinar demonstrating practical ways AI tools will elevate learning experiences.
Content provided by Inzata

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

States Every State Now Lets Schools Measure Students' Success Based on Mastery, Not Seat Time
Wyoming became the final state to adopt competency-based education policies when it approved a new pilot program in April.
8 min read
Image of a man climbing toward a goal.
Nuthawut Somsuk/iStock /Getty<br/>
States More States Consider Partisan School Board Races as Education Debates Intensify
Most states don't allow party labels in school board races. With education debates cleaving down party lines, there's a push to change that.
5 min read
Photo of U.S. flag in classroom.
iStock / Getty Images Plus
States Opinion A Bipartisan Agenda for Schools Is Absolutely Possible
A set of opportunity-to-learn principles can guide policymakers, write a current Iowa state senator and a former Arkansas state senator.
Joyce Elliott & Amy Sinclair
3 min read
Illustration of students and hands.
Robert Neubecker for Education Week
States Opinion Nine Guiding Principles to Advance Public Education
The Opportunity to Learn principles offer a road map for education stakeholders to reenvision public education through shared values and approaches.
1 min read
Illustration of school and government buildings with girl
F. Sheehan for Education Week / Getty