Schools

Darien Signs Onto State's Race To The Top Bid

Despite concerns about the vagueness of Connecticut's plan, the district chooses to sign on for a possible $140,000 in local funding.

Darien Public Schools have officially signed onto Connecticut's application for a federal Race To The Top grant, according to Superintendent of Schools Don Fiftal.

If the state's application to the $4.35 billion federal pool is successful, Darien would be eligible to receive an estimated $140,000 in educational funding over three years in exchange for supporting and carrying out components of the state's proposal.

In addition to $24 million to be disbursed across the state for local use, the Connecticut State Department of Education would also receive $151 million under the award.

Find out what's happening in Darienwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Buy-in from Darien and other communities is seen as a crucial part of making the state's application more attractive to the U.S. Department of Education, as weight is given to proposals supported by large percentages of local districts. In an earlier round of grant applications, the only two states which were given awards—Delaware and Tennessee—both had support from over 90% of local districts.

Despite the financial incentive, Darien's Board of Education declined to support Connecticut's application during the first round last year and had voiced concerns about the vagueness of the state's proposal and the possibility for encroachment as recently as last week.

Find out what's happening in Darienwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Fiftal said those concerns are "still hanging out there," but that the district had ultimately decided the benefits of the plan outweighed them.

"In Darien, there's a question of pride because we have the nice position of having results that are very strong," Fiftal said, but "we're confident enough to take this step. It's not an irreversible step at this point."

Among other proposals, Connecticut's plan would establish a new support and evaluation system for teachers and administrators, increase the types and accessibility of data collected on students, and direct funds toward rehabilitating troubled schools in many of the state's biggest cities.

If Connecticut receives a grant—which would likely occur some time in August or early September, according to the U.S. Department of Education—the district will have 90 days to submit a plan for using the local funding. At that point, Darien could opt to back out.

Fiftal said that while the grant would represent more centralization of educational oversight, the district also has an interest in promoting the welfare of students across the state.

"We want Connecticut students to be strong. We want all kids to be well educated," Fiftal said. "It's not just about Darien."


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