Missouri’s $743.5 million application was hit hard in critical areas, including limits on charter schools and overall conditions for reform in the state.  Delaware and Tennessee were the only winners in the first round.  Delaware was awarded more than $100 million and Tennessee, a state in the same suggested bidding range as Missouri, was allotted more than $500 million.

Here is what some of the reviewers of Missouri’s application had to say:

• “The state has a charter school law that only allows charter schools to operate in Kansas City and St. Louis.  Although a considerable percentage of students in these locations are in charter schools, the effect of this law limits the educational choices available to students who do not live in these cities.”
• “Low points are given to the Missouri proposal on this subsection concerned with charter law because the Missouri charter school law has limits on both geography and sponsors.”
• “The applicant makes almost no effort in this section of the application to describe the extent to which the State, in addition to information provided under other State Reform Conditions Criteria, has created through law, regulation, or policy, other conditions favorable to education reform or innovation that have increased student achievement or graduation rates, narrowed achievement gaps, or resulted in other important outcomes.”

These statements paint a dire picture of the current state of education reform in Missouri.  The real question is: Will Missouri learn its lesson from missing out on the first round of money and work toward reforms now that will make us seriously competitive in the second round?  Applications for Round Two are due June 1^st, with winners being announced in September.

It is obvious from the comments above that expanding charter school options outside of the St. Louis and Kansas City school districts would dramatically improve the chances of being competitive for part of the $3.4 billion remaining to be awarded.  But, two bills in the Missouri legislature that would expand access to charter schools to most of the state, SB 838 and HB 2200, have yet to even receive a committee hearing.

Missouri should take note that both first-round winners made moves to expand access to charter schools before submitting their first-round applications.  Furthermore, states that finished close to the Round One winners already have passed, or are currently debating, legislation that would expand charter schools as a way to cross the finish line and stand on the podium with the other expected 10 to 12 winners in Round Two.

The Missouri House’s budget made significant funding cuts to Missouri education, and the Senate’s budget borrowed from stimulus funds held for next year to restore those cuts.  While legislators will continue to sort out the budget mess in Jefferson City, it is clear that education funding in Missouri is on shaky ground.  This program would be a good way to implement needed education reforms in the state as well as bolster the state’s coffers.  This unprecedented pot of money is likely a once in a lifetime opportunity.  It would be a disservice to the children of this state if we let it slip away.

“Demonstrating Other Significant Reform Conditions”

Average of scores: 0.4 out of 5 possible points

Reviewers of Missouri’s $743.5 million Race to the Top application had numerous negative comments for the state’s application as it related to conditions in the state for significant education reforms.  Below are some of the comments taken directly from the review forms.

• “Missouri does not adequately answer this question.  It states in a 3 ½ line paragraph that Missouri LEAs operate special education cooperatives, alternative schools and technical programs.  However, Missouri does not explain in its application how these programs are reforms or innovations that have increased student achievement or graduation rates, narrowed achievement gaps, or have produced other favorable outcomes.  As a result, all points were withheld.” – Reviewer #2

• “The applicant makes almost no effort in this section of the application to describe the extent to which the State, in addition to information provided under other State Reform Conditions Criteria, has created through law, regulation, or policy, other conditions favorable to education reform or innovation that have increased student achievement or graduation rates, narrowed achievement gaps, or resulted in other important outcomes.” – Reviewer #5

• “The state’s application presents only general information on its intent to create new models of innovation.  It does not effectively address this criterion from the perspective of specific legislative or policy actions.” – Reviewer #1

In summation, the reviewers of Missouri’s Race to the Top application saw conditions for significant education reforms in the state as poor.  Four out of the five reviewers gave the application zero points in this section.  The lone reviewer who awarded two points in this section did so based on parts of the application outside of this section.

It is not too late during the 2010 legislative session to pass significant education reforms to aggressively compete for Missouri’s share of this $4.35 billion fund.  June 1^st is the deadline for Round 2 applications.  According to federal legislation authorizing the Race to the Top fund, all money must be distributed to the winning states by September 30, 2010.  Round two is the State’s last shot at competing for this unprecedented pool of much needed money.

Full scorecards and review sheets can be found online at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/phase1-applications/index.html

Ensuring Successful Conditions for High Performing Charter Schools

Average of scores: 17.8 out of 40 possible points

Reviewers of Missouri’s $743.5 million Race to the Top application had numerous negative comments for the state’s application as it related to charter schools and state law restricting them to only the districts of St. Louis and Kansas City.  Below are some of the comments taken directly from the review forms.

• “Low points were given to this subsection because the Missouri charter school law has geographic and sponsor limitations.”  – Reviewer #4

• “Low points are given to the Missouri proposal on this subsection concerned with charter law because the Missouri charter school law has limits on both geography and sponsors.” – Reviewer #4

• “The state has a charter school law that only allows charter schools to operate in Kansas City and St. Louis.  Although a considerable percentage of students in these locations are in charter schools, the effect of this law limits the educational choices available to students who do not live in these cities.”  – Reviewer #5

• “Missouri’s charter school law is restrictive in that it limits the establishment of charter schools to locales with populations greater than 350,000 residents.” – Reviewer #1

• “The geographic restriction for charter operations imposed by state law, has the effect of establishing a low cap on the opportunities for more charter school operations.” – Reviewer #1

• “There are concerns about why charter schools are limited to two urban school districts…” – Reviewer #3

It is clear that in order to compete for Missouri’s share of this $4.35 billion federal program that the legislature must lift the geographic restrictions on charter schools immediately.  SB 838 and HB 2200 both significantly increase the geography where charter schools could operate and increase accountability standards for authorizers beyond what the State Board of Education has requested.  These two bills should receive fair hearings in each chamber’s education committees at the next available committee meeting.  The Children’s Education Council of Missouri fully supports the passage of both of these bills.

Full scorecards and review sheets can be found online at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/phase1-applications/index.html

Quotes on Missouri application related to charter limitations.

Quotes on Missouri application related to overall conditions for education reform.

CECM has worked to see that Missouri becomes seriously competitive for this competition by passing reforms during the current legislative session.  CECM was contacted by the Beacon and this is what we had to say.

Earl Simms, state director of the Children’s Education Council of Missouri, has also been pushing for changes in the state’s charter school law. He said he had copied some of the passages from the reviewers’ comments on the state’s Race to the Top application to show to members of the Legislature.

He said he realizes that the House and Senate are concentrating on money matters as the session draws to a close, but he also says they should pay more attention to a source of funds that would be coming from Washington.

“I think with the focus on money and the budget,” Simms said, “it would be very helpful for legislators to look at this pool of molney that is out there and implement some of the reforms.”

Click here for a download of the entire story.

In conjunction with cost cutting measures, State Education Commissioner Chris Nicastro outlined her proposed plan for reorganizing the department.  Under the plan, the department would operate under two arms.  The first arm would be for administrative and fiscal services.  The second arm would be for learning services.  The reorganization plan also added departments for data systems and early learning, as well as a newly created position for a Legislative Liason.

In addition to budget and reorganization discussions, the Board also approved two applications for charter schools.St. Louis Collegiate will be located in St. Louis and was approved to begin operations in the 2010 – 2011 school year.  Students in Kansas City will also have a new public charter school option, as the Board approved the charter of DeLaSalle Charter School.  The school is one in a growing nationwide trend that is converting from a private school to a charter public school.  This school will also begin charter operations in the 2010 – 2011 school year.

The board also heard updates on Missouri’s work toward the Common Core State Standards Iniative and round two of the Race to the Top competitive grant program.  These are two initives pushed by United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

While the scorecards and comments for each state’s application will not be available until April, not placing in the top 16 out of 41 applications is a clear sign that Missouri’s application did not go far enough toward implementing quality reforms.  Noticeably absent from Missouri’s application was a push for expanding charter schools outside of the St. Louis and Kansas City school districts.  While leaving charter expansion out of the application may not have been the “determining factor” in not making the finalists, ten states that were among the finalists moved to lift or raise caps on charters, or had strong charter laws already in place.  Also, missing from Missouri’s application was teacher tenure reform, the main reason the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation did not award Missouri a $250,000 grant to help with the application process.

Thankfully, there is still time in the legislature to pass legislation expanding charter schools to districts across the state.  Missouri’s limitations on charters, allowing them only in the St. Louis and Kansas City school districts, is clearly an artificial cap that Secretary Duncan has repeatedly said would put a state at a disadvantage for winning the much needed funding.  State Senator Scott Rupp and State Representative Scott Dieckhaus have sponsored legislation that would significantly expand charter schools throughout the state.  These bills have yet to receive hearings in committee, but should now be a top priority of the Education Committee in both chambers when they return from Spring Break.

Passing charter school expansion during the remainder of the legislative session will show the US Department of Education that our state is serious about reforming education and competing for the second round of the program. Missouri Education Commissioner, Dr. Chris NiCastro, has already stated that the state will apply for round two of the program.  Those applications are due June 1st and winners will be announced in September.

St. Louis Post Dispatch

Columbia Missourian

St. Louis Globe Democrat

Education Equality Project

Southeast Missourian (Cape Girardeau, MO)

Springfield News Leader

While there is no question that Missouri Commissioner of Education, Dr. Chris Nicastro, and her staff worked hard to complete the application since announcing their intention to seek such funding, that application can only be described as incomplete without a push for expanding charter schools in Missouri.

Currently, Missouri has a geographical cap on charters that only allows them to operate in, and accept students from, the St. Louis and Kansas City public school districts.  This policy is in direct conflict with Secretary Duncan’s strong statement last June that “states that do not have public charter laws or put artificial caps on the growth of charter schools will jeopardize their applications under the Race to the Top fund.”

To not include this vital reform in Missouri’s Race to the Top application defies logic, especially in the wake of Governor Jay Nixon’s announcement during his State of the State speech that his proposed budget falls short of fully funding the state’s education formula by $87 million.  Governor Nixon, along with Dr. Nicastro and the State Board of Education, all signed off on the application before it was submitted.

The state also essentially was given a warning shot on its current education policies by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation when Missouri was rejected for a $250,000 grant to help with its Race to the Top application.  In all, 25 states received Gates Foundation help with their applications, states that now are perceived as early front-runners to receive the first round of much-needed dollars.

Missouri’s application, relevant to charters, focused only on increasing accountability for both schools and sponsors.  This is a good step to ensure that only quality charter schools are operating in Missouri.  No one wants unregulated or unaccountable charter schools operating in the state.

However, this still falls short of reforms that need to be made in order to seriously compete for this unprecedented pot of money.  At least four states, namely California, Massachusetts, Nevada and Tennessee, have held special legislative sessions or made their first legislative priority the passing of reforms in order to become more competitive in this race.

Despite the fact that charter expansion was not pushed in Missouri’s Race to the Top application, it should remain a top goal of education reformers during the 2010 state legislative session.  Thankfully, the winners of Round One are scheduled to be announced in April, giving Missouri’s legislature time to pass serious reforms before the end of its current session should the state not receive funding from the first round of the program.

Missouri’s education leaders still have time to analyze and react to the U.S. Department of Education’s feedback before Round Two applications are due in June.  Without reform efforts that almost have been labeled by Secretary Duncan as pre-conditions for winning funding, Missouri’s Race to the Top could be over shortly after beginning.

But it remains to be seen if the late efforts can make up for a lack of early leadership and initiative on the issue.  President Obama and Secretary Duncan formally announced the program on July 30, 2009, but Missouri did not decide to enter until November 13, 2009.  There is no doubt that Missouri’s Education Commissioner and her staff worked hard to finalize the application in time for the January 19 deadline.  But where were the calls from other education leaders to get in the race earlier?  At least four states, Massachusetts, California, Nevada and Tennessee, called special legislative sessions, or made passing reform bills, to better compete for Race to the Top, the legislature’s first priority.  There were no calls for a special legislative session in Missouri to work on legislation, such as charter school expansion, that would have made Missouri’s application more competitive.

The State Board also did not have Race to the Top on their formal agenda until December 18, only a month before the application was due.  In this meeting the board members received a very broad overview of the state’s application and had to vote to approve it without even seeing the final application.  The next state board meeting is scheduled for January 19^th, the date the application is due.  Dr. Nicastro stated that the vague nature of the public briefing was due to keeping the application close to the vest so that ideas were not stolen by other states.  Multiple members on the board did not like the fact that they had to approve the application without reviewing it.  I would ask these board members why they did not push for earlier efforts on the program by the interim Commissioner Bert Schulte?  Or why did they not reschedule their January meeting for an earlier date so that they could review the application?  Instead, they will hear the details of the program on day two of the January meeting on January 20.  The State Senate Education Committee will also hear details of the proposal that day as well.

With the long delay in beginning the Race to the Top competition it should come as no surprise that Missouri did not qualify for application help from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  The foundation gave 25 states $250,000 to help with the application.  States receiving help from the Gates Foundation are seen as clear front runners in Round One.  Two states, Maryland and Vermont, did not even bother to apply for Race to the Top after being rejected by the Gates Foundation.

Even if Missouri is not successful in winning a grant in Round One, there is still Round Two.  Winners for Round One will be announced in April and those who do not receive a grant will receive feedback on why their application was rejected.  Applications for Round Two are due in June of 2010.  This gives Missouri the entire legislative session and four State Board of Education meetings to work on real education reforms that will make the state competitive in Round Two.  Expanding access to high quality charter schools and implementing data systems that link student test scores to individual teachers would be a good start.  No matter the results of round one of Race to the Top, let’s hope Missouri focuses on finishing the race strong with leadership at all levels of the state’s education stakeholders.

Last week, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education held a work session for stakeholders to discuss ideas in the applications for the Race to the Top grants. Dr. Nicastro stated in her opening remarks that the application process “must be about developing and implementing an innovative and bold plan for systemic educational reform in Missouri over the next decade.” Governor Jay Nixon also added that the status quo was not acceptable in applying for this program. “Don’t let the urge to protect the status quo, or the fear of change, prevent you from imagining a brilliant future.”

Now that the stage is set for reform, Missourians must make sure that these words translate into action. Our state’s application can be boosted by expanding charter schools to all areas of the state, developing data systems that link student performance with their teachers, and implementing systems, like merit pay, that are able to recruit and retain good teachers and administrators.

Even if Missouri does not win a grant in round one, we will learn valuable information for a round two application from the process. We can learn what reforms were made by grant winners and implement similar reforms prior to a round two application.

With cuts to the state’s budget, including education, likely to come in the near future, it is good to see Missouri taking this step to attempt to deliver as much education money to the children of the state as possible. Now we will see if the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education back up their application for Race to the Top with real reforms.

Note: You can submit your suggestions for Missouri’s Race to the Top application by clicking here!