Blog Categories

NEWS ROUND-UP

Illinois is named a Race to the Top Round 2 Finalist
Congratulations to Illinois for being named one of the 19 Race to the Top Round 2 finalists.  State leaders and lawmakers should be proud of their hard work and smart leadership over the past year. Good luck to the team going to do the finalist interview in Washington.  Read more...

Advance Illinois Releases "Race to the Top" Report

A new report recommends Illinois state leaders take bold action to reform the state’s school system, in order to win a chance to bring Illinois as much as $400 million being made available by the U.S. Department of Education. The report was released today by Advance Illinois, the statewide education advocacy organization, chaired by former Gov. Jim Edgar and former Secretary of Commerce Bill Daley. “We can’t miss the moment,” said Edgar. Read more...

"Race to the Top" Roundup
Get the latest media coverage of the U.S. Department of Education's $4.35 billion "Race to the Top" competition, including how other states are working to position themselves here in our Education News section. Read more...

SEE ALL NEWS>

 

RESEARCH ARTICLES

How Bold is Bold
The New Teacher Project (TNTP) provides a unifying framework and practical strategies that will enable states to respond to Race to the Top with a bold and coherent teacher effectiveness agenda.  TNTP believes top applications will differentiate themselves by placing a strong emphasis on teacher effectiveness in two of the four key assurance areas:  great teachers and leaders and turning around struggling schools.  Many of the strategies are in line with Advance Illinois’ belief and stance on improved data systems, teacher evaluations, and increasing human capital pipelines to Illinois most struggling schools.