Lt. Gov. Barbara O'Brien is spearheading the effort to win competitive Race to the Top grant funds from the U.S. Department of Education. The $4.35 billion Race to the Top fund is the largest ever federal competitive investment in school reform. The funding will be divided among the states deemed to be in the top tier of education reform, over two phases.

Race to the Top is designed to create incentives for innovative, dynamic and quality education policies that ensure that every child has access to a good education and can compete in the global economy. Since 2007, Colorado has put into place policies designed to boost and measure teacher success, improve student learning and track progress, create new internationally bench-marked standards and assessments and help turnaround underperforming schools.

Colorado is now involved in a public process that will result in a proposal to qualify for the Race to the Top funds, potentially $60-175 million. This is an investment that could potentially transform our education system.

Click here for more details about Race to the Top in Colorado.