Obama to seek $1.35 billion more for Race to the Top program
By Michael A. Fletcher/Washington Post
President Obama is slated to visit a Fairfax County school Tuesday to announce plans to seek $1.35 billion in his next budget to expand his signature education initiative to improve schools. Obama plans to go to Graham Road Elementary School in Falls Church, which the White House calls a low-income but high-achieving school, to signal his intention to expand his Race to the Top program. The federal initiative uses the lure of grants to encourage school districts to raise standards, make better use of data to track student achievement, and take more forceful steps to intervene in failing schools. The $4.35 billion effort was enacted last year as part of the $787 billion economic stimulus plan, marking one of the largest federal expenditures ever on the nation's public schools. (more...)