Hawaii’s Race To The Top Delayed
Hawaii last week to some of its ambitious Race to the Top goals — or at least push back the timeline for reaching them.
Hawaii was one of 12 states to receive a competitive federal grant last year to implement permanent statewide education reforms over the next four years. The state’s proposed reforms include implementing teacher evaluations, more comprehensive data collection on students and better professional development. It was one of six states and the District of Columbia to request deadline extensions.
In some cases, the extension requests are significant — one deadline was pushed back a year and a half.
Interestingly, the Department of Education built specifically to keep Hawaii residents informed about Race to the Top, but most recent Race developments — including this one — have not been posted there.
The reasons behind Hawaii’s request for delays vary. Some of the delays are the result of the imminent transition from the elected Board of Education to one appointed by Gov. Neil Abercrombie, according to the department’s . Others have been caused by reorganization and restructuring within the department.
The department is also struggling to stay afloat in the wake of hefty budget cuts, so it will be interesting to see if it can stay on track with its Race goals in the coming months.
In a letter dated March 22, the U.S. Department of Education granted Hawaii permission to make the requested extensions.
“It is our understanding that the amendments will not result in a change in your state’s performance measures and outcomes, nor will they substantially change the scope of work,” the letter states.
Although there have been no changes to the state’s goals, some activities that the Department of Education has delayed include:
- Presenting a final to the Board of Education (It was presented in January, three months after the initial self-imposed deadline).
- Proposing a new college- and career-ready diploma.
- Taking inventory of what English and math curricula are being used in schools.
- Launching a hotline for teachers to submit questions about the new Common Core State Standards for curriculum.
- Posting the new English and math curriculum frameworks online.
to read the department’s granted amendment request in full.
