Indiana is out of the running for a $4.35 billion grant from the U.S. Department of Education, something Dean of Teachers College John Jacobson said would have helped the entire school system in Indiana, including charter schools and their authorizers.
Sixteen states went on the second round in the process to receive the grant in the competition "Race to the Top," but Indiana was not among the contenders.
Indiana submitted a $500 million application in January, along with its plan called Fast Forward, which targets some of the reform areas in Race to the Top, according to a press release.
IDOE's outlined plan included each of the areas in which the "Race to the Top" program focuses for school reform.
"I don't know why the federal government did not choose Indiana for the grant," Jacobson said. "The proposal had creative and innovative activities and items that would have helped."
Despite missing out on the grant, Jacobson said Indiana Superintendent of Education Tony Bennett plans to move forward with the Fast Forward program.
Finalists were chosen through panels of five peer reviewers, who met in February to finalize comments and submit scores. Results and feedback were given to each one of the states that submitted the application.
According to the U.S. DOE, the 16 finalists will present their proposals to the panel in March "to ensure that the state has the understanding, knowledge, capacity and will truly deliver on what is proposed." Winners will be announced in April.
Indiana was one of 40 states that applied for the grant. A second round of applications will be due on June 1.
President Barack Obama proposed to continue the program next year by requesting $1.35 billion in the Administration's fiscal year 2011 budget, according to the U.S. DOE.
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