The State that one lives in doesn’t seem to matter just now. For reasons known only to the various deities out there, the education establishment across this nation seems to be in a tailspin, financially speaking. This writer hasn’t read anything recently about a school district being solidly in the black, either in a financial or educational sense. Perhaps bad news simply sells better.

The first funds that the Dept. of Education are distributing in the Race to the Top series are going to two states that the pundits didn’t quite predict: Delaware and Tennessee. Education Secretary Arnie Duncan’s take on it: “”Both states have statewide buy-in for comprehensive plans to reform their schools. They have written new laws to support their policies. And they have demonstrated the courage, capacity, and commitment to turn their ideas into practices that can improve outcomes for students.”

Delaware will receive $100 million, and Tennessee will receive $500 million to implement their programs. The money is distributed over 4 years. The actual budgets have yet to be worked out. Someone, somewhere in Delaware and Tennessee, is getting paid well to figure out that budgeting process. As the yet-to-be-worked out benchmarks are met, money will change hands. There remains $3.4 billion to be raced for. 40 of the States, plus the District of Columbia, submitted applications for the funding. The applicants that didn’t make it have another chance though.

Phase 2 applications are due at the Department of Education by June 1, 2010. In order to assist those who didn’t cross the finish line in the first phase,  the Department of Education has made all Phase 1 applications, peer reviewers’ comments, and scores available on its website. Something else will be available that this writer didn’t know about: videos of states’ presentations will also be posted. Quite the race, video’s documenting it all.

You can access the Secretary’s remarks here. There will be a workshop on April 21 for all phase 2 applicants who want to sharpen their proposals. The workshop will be attended by the good folks from Delaware and Tennessee, who will help out. Where the money for the workshop, and the travel, lodging, food, expenses, will come from isn’t stated. Sounds like a good time to visit Washington, DC. Perhaps the cherry blossoms will still be out for all to see.

Secretary Duncan deems the Race to the Top a success in many ways, stating that it “…has been a catalyst for education reform across this country, prompting states to think deeply about how to improve the way we prepare our students for success in a competitive, 21st century economy and workplace.” Oddly, this writer was under the impression that all the staff meetings for the last umpteen years at his school district were about exactly the same thing. Perhaps not. Maybe there is a parallel universe that we go to during staff meetings, and all that we did just went into an educational black hole.