Race to the Top - March 2011

Race to the Top is a federal, competitive grant program.  $338,757.69 was allocated to Cardinal Local School District for the four year period.  
The moneys are available to help local school districts improve: (1) college- and career-ready academic standards, (2) data systems for tracking progress and improving instruction, (3) teacher and principal effectiveness, and (4) performance among the lowest-performing schools. The money cannot be used for current expenses that the district may have.

Helping more Ohio students prepare for high-skill jobs is a key part of Ohio’s strategy.  The Ohio Department of Development estimates that about half of all job opening in Ohio between now and 2016 will be mid-level positions that require more than a high school diploma, but less than a four-year degree.  There is a concern that Ohio lacks trained workers to fill those jobs.

Student success is at the center of Ohio’s focus and four goals detail the benefit to students across the state.  Ohio will:

·         Improve the graduation rate by 0.5%

·         Reduce graduation rate gaps……in participating schools

·         Reduce performance gaps by 50% on national and state-wide assessments….in participating districts and schools.

·         Reduce the gap between Ohio and the best performing states in the nation by 50%.....as measured by national assessments.

Cardinal’s Race to the Top committee (RttT) continues to meet on a regular basis.  Since the proposal was approved at the state level, the committee is moving forward. 

·         The staff will attend in-service meetings to acquaint them with new standards and curriculum.

·          Virtual learning is being investigated.

·         Dan Isham, PC Technician for the district, is going to evaluate the district needs for hardware/software.  We want to improve all buildings’ technology.