Race to the Top

Race to the Top is a $4.35 billion fund the U.S. Department of Education (Ed.Gov.) is using to incentivize states to produce measurable student gains. This website brings you the most up to date information on how each state is doing in the competition.

Keystone is participating in the Race to the Top Program.  Below, you'll find progress updates and meeting notes concerning our participation in this program. 

Progress Update:  August - October
The DLT (also called the RttT Transformation Team) continued working on the Ohio Improvement Process and Race to the Top Scope of Work.  We established assurance area subcommittees.  They are:

  • Assurance Area A:  Race to the Top Communication Plan.  Kim Sturgill, assurance area team members, and Dan White
  • Assurance Area B: Standards Assessments – Phil Tuttle, Anita Cornish, Kim Sturgill, Kim Price, Tim Jenkins, and Tom Clary
  • Assurance Area C:  Using Data to Improve Instruction: Mary Sczcepanik, Taya Neuman, Justine Cernich, Nicole Cassell, and Jay Arbaugh
  • Assurance Area D:  Great Teachers and Leaders: Rob Clarico, Beth Branco, Jen Wooten as KLEA President, Dave Kish and Dan White

The committee was also joined by Sally Levine and Michele Stoffan.  Sally and Michele explained how the work and requirements of the Ohio Improvement Process and Race to the Top can align and work together to help the Keystone Local School District achieve our goals from the OIP goals and strategic plan vision and mission.  They also explained the differences between Race to the Top and House Bill 153. If you’re interested in this information you may find the Frequently Asked Questions for House Bill 153 on the Ohio Department of Education’s web-site beneficial.  Michele and Sally then worked on revising our Scope of Work for Race to the Top.
Assurance Area C began work on filling out the state of Ohio Instructional Improvement System (IIS) Inventory Tool.  With this information, the state will send us a document explaining where we satisfy the demands of an Instructional Improvement System and what we still need to acquire.  This information should come in December.

Assurance Area B and Assurance Area D teams began analyzing the scope of work and assessing what needed to be completed and when.

Progress Update:  November
Assurance Area B began developing a curriculum map that all Math, English Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies teachers can use to:
•    Compare and contrast the old and new standards
•    Know when the new standards will be assessed
•    Know when a standard should be introduced
•    Know when a standard should be mastered

Assurance Area D team revisited the history of the district’s commitment to the Race to the Top grant.  We reviewed the requirements of House Bill 153 that is now law.  We discussed some guiding principles as we transition to new staff evaluations.  We want every staff member to have input into how he or she should be evaluated.  We don’t want the evaluations to be a “gotcha”.  We want evaluations based on collaboration between the evaluator and evaluated so both fully understand the expectations for what is being observed and evaluated.  Lastly, we want building, central office administrators and teachers to have the same student growth measures so we are all working together to help students succeed.  

We put together a time-line for what needs to be accomplished and when.  We used the backward method of planning and started with the need to have a pilot evaluation program ready by the fall of 2012.  We worked from there to November, 2011.  We developed a communication piece for all staff to articulate why we’re doing what we’re doing (it is the law – House Bill 153).  We then developed a survey concerning student growth measures to distribute to all staff.

The Race to the Top Transformation Team will meet in December to continue developing the curriculum map to provide other staff members to work on during our January In-service day.