The U.S. Department of Education has announced a second Race to the Top district grant competition and is looking for qualified individuals to serve as peer reviewers. This competition will build on the success of past Race to the Top competitions and support bold, locally directed improvements in learning and teaching that will directly improve student achievement and educator effectiveness.
This district competition will reward local educational agencies that have the leadership and vision to implement the strategies, structures and systems of support to move beyond one-size-fits-all models of schooling. Grant funds can be used to craft personalized, student-focused approaches to teaching and learning that use collaborative, data-based strategies and 21st century tools to deliver instruction and supports tailored to each student. The goal of this competition is to enable schools to ensure all students are graduating college and/or career ready.
In order to guarantee a successful competition, Race to the Top is seeking qualified individuals with expertise in some or all of the following areas to serve as peer reviewers:
- Four core educational assurances (college- and career-ready standards and assessments, data systems and data use, great teachers and leaders, and school turnaround)
- Personalized learning environments
- District reform and school-level operations
- Educating students in rural areas
- Application review and evaluation
- Serving high-needs students
Generally, reviewers need to be available for contact during normal business hours throughout the review period and will need to commit to the following process:
- Reviewers must be available for a two-day in-person training session in Washington, D.C., in October.
- Reviewers will be expected to read, score, provide comments on and discuss by phone approximately three Race to the Top district applications during an off-site review beginning in mid-October and lasting through mid-November.
- Reviewers may be invited to participate in an in-person panel review in Washington, D.C., in mid- to late November.
As with other federal grant competitions, reviewers will receive compensation for their time and effort, contingent upon satisfactory completion of the review requirements and consistent with the required schedule. Travel costs to the events in Washington, D.C., will also be covered.
To be considered to serve as a peer reviewer for the Race to the Top district program, please visit the following link to submit your resume/curriculum vitae, a personal biography of fewer than 250 words and the Peer Reviewer Questionnaire no later than Aug. 4: www.mikousa.com/surveys/index.php?sid=85845&lang=en.
At the end of the review process, the name and a short biography of each peer reviewer will be posted on the Race to the Top district website. The names of peer reviewers will not be associated with the applications they reviewed.
Please direct all questions to rttdlogistics@mikogroup.com.