Source: Feds pick Delaware, Tenn. for ed grants

ATLANTA — The U.S. Department of Education has picked Delaware and Tennessee to receive part of an unprecedented $4.35 billion to help them improve student performance and transform struggling schools, a source said on Monday.

The states, selected from 16 finalists, are going to receive hundreds of millions in grants in the first round of the federal "Race to the Top" competition. The grants are designed to encourage the use of innovative educational programs.

It wasn't immediately known exactly how much money the two states would receive, but officials in Tennessee said they applied for $500 million and their counterparts in Delaware asked for $100 million.

The source declined to be identified because not all finalists had been yet contacted.

The winners beat out: Colorado, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and South Carolina.

Applications were read and scored by panels of five peer reviewers. The 16 with the highest average score visited Washington this month to present their proposals.

Federal officials will collect a second round of applications for the highly selective program in June. The states that were not picked this time can reapply for grants then.

"A lot of people said 'They're going to end up giving it to lots of states' and 'the federal government can never really be selective. It turns out they actually were," said Kati Haycock, president of The Education Trust, a nonpartisan Washington, D.C.-based think tank. "They're setting the bar this high that only two states met it, it sends a very powerful message."

Officials said Georgia and Florida were third and fourth in the rankings for the grants, which means they have an advantage over other states for the second round of grants. Still, several of the finalists are already vowing to reapply for the money.

"We were honored to be one of only 16 finalists for this highly competitive grant, and we will immediately begin working on our application for the next round of funding," said Deborah A. Gist, Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education in Rhode Island.

Observers say the winners took to heart the education reforms pushed by the Obama administration, including performance pay for teachers and welcoming charter school policies.