By Dan Carden, Times of Northwest Indiana
dan.carden@nwi.com
INDIANAPOLIS | Indiana's application for competitive federal education stimulus grants was signed Friday by Gov. Mitch Daniels and will be sent to Washington, D.C., next week.
More than 90 percent of Indiana school corporations, including most in Northwest Indiana, have agreed to participate in the federal "Race to the Top" program.
Secretary Arne Duncan of the U.S. Department of Education will distribute $4.35 billion to states to encourage educational innovation. Indiana hopes to win at least $250 million.
"We are told Indiana's application is perhaps the boldest in America," Daniels said. "I believe it is completely in the spirit of the President and Secretary Duncan's charge to seek true reform."
The Republican governor said he is "very excited" about the proposals in Indiana's application, including new standards for teacher quality, paying bonuses to good teachers in needy schools and expanding the Woodrow Wilson fellowship program which trains working scientists and mathematicians to become Indiana teachers.
"We believe a new era of educational transformation and reform has begun in Indiana," Daniels said.
Hoosier schools may also benefit from other states opting out. On Wednesday, Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry said his state won't apply, because the program requires schools to meet specific federal standards.
Daniels said he understands Perry's concerns but believes Indiana schools will benefit from the money.
"When you're dealing with the federal government you always take the risk that there's a double-cross coming or a problem like that," Daniels said. "We don't see that in Race to the Top, and I think it's a risk worth running."
The first round of Race to the Top awards will be announced in April.