Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, State Superintendent Kerri Briggs, and former State Board of Education Chair Lisa Raymond today announced DC’s application will move forward in the selection process to further reform education through President Obama’s Race to the Top Fund. Of the 41 states that applied, only 16 will interview as finalists.

“The reforms we started in DC are in line with the goals President Obama and Secretary Duncan set forth to improve our nation’s schools,” stated Mayor Fenty.  “Our strong application coupled with increased achievement from our initial reforms show DC is moving in the right direction.”

DC will send an interview team of 5 people to meet with the US Department of Education the second week of March to discuss our application. Complete logistics for the interview process will be shared on March 5.

“DC’s education community came together to write a comprehensive plan to help our city’s schools,” said State Superintendent Briggs. “Extra funding through President Obama’s Race to the Top Fund will allow DCPS and the participating charter schools to scale up some of their reform efforts so more students can excel academically.”

The application was produced with input from education stakeholders across the District through numerous meetings and 2 community forums led by OSSE, the Deputy Mayor’s office, and the State Board of Education.

"DC is making incredible strides in transforming public education and even making it to the next round recognizes the hard work our city has done so far," said former State Board Chair Lisa Raymond.  "We hope to become a national model for education reform that the President can see outside his front door."

The US Department of Education will announce which states are selected for funding in April 2010.