This blast was sent to all board members and superintendents on December 15, 2009.
Urgent Advisory: Race to the Top Memorandum of Understanding
On December 14, the Governor’s Office in conjunction with the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, released the Memorandum of Understanding requesting local education agency participation in the state’s application for the federal Race to the Top competitive grant program. This important e-blast highlights key considerations and deadlines for local governing boards.
The state application, which is due to the U.S. Department of Education on January 19, 2010, will include a state plan based on the four assurance/reform areas that were outlined in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act:
- Adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace, and to compete in the global economy
- Building data systems that measure student growth and success, and inform teachers and principals about how they can improve instruction
- Recruiting, developing rewarding and retaining effective teachers and principals, especially where they are needed most
- Turning around our lowest achieving schools
Should an LEA sign this MOU, the funding received would be in addition to its future Title I and School Improvement Grant allocations. Further, because the Race to the Top and new SIG regulations are closely aligned, participating LEAs will have a head-start in implementing some of the new proposed changes in the SIG, such as the implementation of the four models for improving low-achieving schools.
In reviewing the MOU, CSBA strongly recommends that governance teams work closely together to ensure that this is a program that your LEA would benefit from participating in. The following are areas of consideration:
- There will be very little time to consider the implications, as the MOU must be agreed to and returned to the state by January 8, 2010. A letter of intent to participate must be sent by December 31, 2009 (see page 9 of the CDE letter).
- This commitment by LEAs will be made before the state has completed its plan and application. While the letter accompanying the MOU attempts to spell out the state’s plan, all elements will not be fully known until the application is submitted.
- LEAs must commit to all aspects in all four assurance areas. The MOU serves as a checklist of activities that LEAs must commit to implementing; however, further details regarding the scope of work that will be necessary to implement the MOU will be required 90 days after the state's application has been approved.
- Funding is one-time only and may not fully fund the activities required under the MOU. Further it is unknown at this time how much money the state will receive and, therefore, how much participating LEAs will receive.
- LEAs may commit any or all of their schools to participate in the program. However, they will only receive funding based on the number of Title I-eligible students in participating schools.
- The Governor’s Office and SPI state that, at a minimum, the MOU must be signed by the LEA superintendent. They encourage additional signatures from the board president and local teachers union leader. CSBA believes that state law (Ed Code 17604) requires board approval of this MOU. In some LEAs, superintendents may have the authority to enter into certain agreements without initial board approval, however they must always bring the MOU/contract back to the board for ratification. The MOU would become invalid if the board chose not to ratify the contract.
- If an LEA is considering participation in Race to the Top and does not have a meeting scheduled before January 8, CSBA strongly encourages the board to call a special meeting. It is a significant commitment of the entire LEA and should be entered into only with the full consent and approval of the entire governance team. A special meeting could provide an opportunity for input from community members, unions and other stakeholders and an opportunity to secure additional signatures of support.
- The MOU is contingent upon the state receiving a grant from the U.S. Department of Education and LEAs will only need to comply with its provisions should a grant be awarded to California (see page 4 of MOU).
Other specific issues, within the four assurance areas, that school board members need to consider in developing and approving the MOU include:
1. Standards and Assessments: Under RTTT, both state standards and assessments will be changing. The state is proposing a five-year timeline in which to adopt the common core standards, review curriculum frameworks, adopt new instructional materials and review state assessments. It is the goal of the state to adopt the national common core standards by August 2, 2010, but to do so in such a manner as to not lower the rigor of our current standards. The state also intends to develop and adopt a new accountability model that will be based on individual year-to-year student achievement gains.
2. Data Systems: The state’s plan and application will include language to establish/maintain an articulated data system. LEAs must commit to using the data system and to the use of formative assessments to determine pupil progress. The state also plans to implement a growth model to determine achievement; this will eventually replace the Adequately Yearly Progress system if approved by the federal government.
3. Teachers and Leaders: LEAs will be required to commit to annual evaluations of both teachers and principals. It will be left to the LEA to determine and develop that evaluation system. One issue to keep in mind for the evaluation system is that it will need to include student assessment data. This is data that will need to be validated for use in evaluations. The state will be working on the validation issue. In many LEAs, these provisions will need to be bargained. For the purposes of this MOU, LEAs must commit to exploring these changes with their bargaining units.
4. Turning around the lowest performing schools: LEAs will be required to implement one of the four models specified in Race to the Top for their persistently lowest achieving schools. These include:
- Turnaround model: A turnaround model is one in which an LEA must replace the principal and up to 50 percent of the staff and grant the new principal sufficient operational flexibility (including staffing, calendars/time, and budgeting) to implement fully a comprehensive approach in order to substantially improve student achievement outcomes and increase high school graduation rates.
- Restart model: A restart model is one in which an LEA converts a school or closes and reopens a school under a charter school operator, a charter management organization, or an education management organization that has been selected through a rigorous review process.
- School closure: School closure occurs when an LEA closes a school and enrolls the students who attended that school in other schools in the LEA that are higher achieving.
- Transformation model: A transformation model is one in which an LEA implements each of the following strategies:
- Replace the principal who led the school prior to commencement of the transformation model;
- Use rigorous, transparent and equitable evaluation systems for teachers and principals that include the use of student achievement data;
- Identify and reward school leaders, teachers and other staff who have increased student achievement and high-school graduation rates and identify and remove those who, after ample opportunities have been provided for them to improve their professional practice, have not done so;
- Provide staff with ongoing, high-quality, job-embedded professional development that is aligned with the school’s comprehensive instructional program and designed with school staff; and
- Implement such strategies as financial incentives, increased opportunities for promotion and career growth, and more flexible work conditions that are designed to recruit, place, and retain staff with the skills necessary to meet the needs of the students in a transformation school.
In signing the MOU it is important to remember that this represents a contract between an LEA and the state and ultimately the federal government. The MOU does contain language that it shall be effective upon the date of the last signature and if a RTTT grant is received by the state.
The state Legislature is debating two competing bills to make California's RTTT plan and application eligible to be considered by U.S. Department of Education. Information on the legislation is available here.
Information on the Memorandum of Understanding documents can be found at:
Also for your use are CSBA's talking points on Race to the Top.