North Carolina is finalist in Race to the Top

Slightly more than half of the 36 states and D.C., including North Carolina, are in the running for incentive federal education funds amounting to $ 3.4 billion. Eighteen states and D. C.  made the cut in round two. They will each send a five-member committee  to Washington, D.C. on August 9th to make in-person presentations in hopes of bringing  home the extra cash. Other finalists include Arizona, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and South Carolina.

The competition is generate reforms in public schools including tying teacher evaluations to student performance, adopting new national academic standards in English, math and other subjects and in removing the cap on the number of Charter Schools.

Winners are expected to be announced in late August or early September. The U.S. Department of Education is expected to pick between ten to 12 states as winners, who will receive substantial funds.

Tennessee and Delaware were winners in Round One of the program and received between them $600 million.