November 30, 2009  

RACE TO THE TOP
INFORMATION ALERT

Connecticut Parent Teacher Association (PTA) was part of a New England forum on the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) reform priorities and ARRA opportunities with Deputy Secretary of the USDE Tony Miller. As a result of that meeting we are working with a coalition of advocacy groups in Connecticut to be sure that parent engagement is an integral part of the entire Race to the Top process from submission of the application through implementation to assessment.

As a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the U.S. Department of Education has established a competitive grant program of $4.35 billion for education reform. These funds will be provided to selected states to improve student outcomes and graduation rates, close the achievement gap and ensure student preparation for college and career. This is the largest pool of money for education reform in U.S. history. Four key areas are targeted:

• Standards and assessments
• Effective teachers and leaders
• Data systems to support instruction
• Turning around struggling schools

Connecticut PTA has taken the following position on the Race to the Top program.

• Connecticut PTA supports the laudable efforts to institute education reform that attempts to both raise the bar and close the gap. As the state with the largest achievement gap in the nation we are fully aware of just how important this work is if the students of Connecticut are to compete in a global economy.

One of the requirements of the Race to the Top program is that all states must adopt national common core standards and assessments. Connecticut is one of 48 states that have already signed on to the Common Core State Standards Initiative. Connecticut PTA is supportive of the proposed standards and sees tremendous value in the ability of the standards to ensure educational equity among individual schools, districts and states. We are hopeful that Connecticut’s’ current high standards will only be strengthened by the researched and evidence based common core standards.

• Connecticut PTA also supports the development and deployment of a robust, longitudinal student achievement data system that would provide feedback to improve instructional practices in the classroom, to guide more effective resource allocations in schools, and to make student performance data more available and understandable to parents. This data should also look at the very important role that parent engagement plays in increased student success.

Connecticut PTA firmly believes that parent, family, and community engagement must be a central component of any school transformation, especially in turning around struggling schools. Working in partnership with families and communities to design, implement, monitor and evaluate a range of strategies beyond the limited choices outlined in the draft Race To the Top regulations will help build public will and support for reform and innovation, and will ultimately lead to improved student achievement.

• Connecticut PTA supports the Connecticut State Board of Education’s recent policy statement on School-Family-Community partnerships and hope that its principles are integrated into any Race to the Top Initiative.

Race to the Top requires that there be no impediments to the use of student achievement data in the evaluation of teachers. Connecticut PTA believes that student achievement data is simply one piece of a total teacher assessment package.

• Connecticut PTA supports multiple measures of assessment for teachers and administrators just as we support multiple assessment measures for students.

Connecticut PTA encourages our members to get involved in our state’s process for applying for Race to The Top funding. PTA members are encouraged to talk to their state and federal legislators and the Connecticut State Department of Education to remind them of Connecticut PTA’s position on parent involvement, common core standards, and a sound student data system that provides current data in a timely fashion and can be used as one of the multiple assessment measures of teacher performance.

Connecticut PTA will continue to play an active role in developing Connecticut's response to the Race to the Top program. If you have any questions or wish to provide input, feel free to contact us at www.ctpta.org or call our office at 203-281-6617.