In race for early childhood millions, Georgia was not at the top of fed’s list this time around
Georgia is not one of the states awarded a Race to the Top grant for early childhood education, despite its role as a pioneer in the field. The state had been hoping for a $70 million grant. The U.S. DOE will announce the winners later today, but states have already been notified.
Georgia did not win a new Race to the Top program for early learning. (AJC file)
In a meeting in October here at the AJC, Bobby Cagle, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, said, “We are kind of an underdog. People don’t know what we have done here.”
One of those things, he said, was pioneer early learning standards. That apparently was not enough.
Georgia isn’t coming out a winner in the latest federal Race to the Top grant competition.
The White House is scheduled to announce today the winners of the latest Race to the Top grant competition aimed at early childhood education. And Georgia won’t be among them, said Bobby Cagle, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, the agency that would have been recipient of the grant.
“We just heard this morning that we did not get it, and that’s official,” Cagle said. North Carolina and Ohio are to be announced as winners in the category of states where Georgia was competing, he said.
Had Georgia been chosen it would have been eligible to receive up to $70 million over a four-year period.
UPDATE at 11 a.m. Here is the release from the feds about the winners:
Today, the White House announced that nine states – California, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island and Washington — will receive grant awards from the $500 million Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge fund, a competitive grant program jointly administered by the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services.
President Obama asked Congress in his budget to authorize and make permanent an Early Learning Challenge Fund in previous years. Unfortunately, Congress did not act on that proposal, so the Administration took action to ensure this program was funded this year through Race to the Top, because our kids only get one shot at a top-notch education and they cannot afford to wait.
“Education must be our national mission,” said President Barack Obama. “All of us must work to give all our children the best education possible. And today, we’re acting to strengthen early childhood education to better prepare our youngest children for success in school and in life”
“In a matter of months, early education and child development experts throughout the country, together with state and local leaders, worked to build comprehensive plans for expanding access to high-quality early learning,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “All applicants showed tremendous dedication and drive to build stronger foundations and create greater opportunities for more children. Their work will help lead the way in ensuring excellent early learning and support for every child.”
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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77 comments Add your comment
Top School
December 16th, 2011
11:48 pm
The Gates Foundation…and all those in the inner circle are playing the same rip-off game.
This is OBAMA bowing down to the master… but when the re-election starts …LET THE REAL GAMES BEGIN!
OOOOOO BA AM A MESS…
Top School
December 16th, 2011
11:59 pm
OBAMA …MODELING the proper way to run down the middle of the UNDERGROUND RAILROAD TRACK before re-eLECTION.
And those on the APS Board and in Atlanta Leadership positions are doing the same song and dance.
Just can’t wait for the re-election! Should be some serious RISE-IN-UP from the people.
And it won’t just be 1% …they’ve been a knocked down…WHEN THEY DO GET UP AGAIN…THERE WILL BE SOME SERIOUS RISING UP from the people.
People are tired of all the BS.
And as for correcting typos… this is a blog… POP QUIZ …figure it out.
California wins $52.6 million in early childhood development grants – Los Angeles Times « Contacto Latino News
December 17th, 2011
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California wins $52.6 million in early childhood development grants – Los Angeles Times | headlinenewsreport.org
December 17th, 2011
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[...] Atlanta Journal Constitution [...]
ScienceTeacher671
December 17th, 2011
7:11 am
@Beverly Fraud 11:27 am: Gotta be Post of the Week!
If Georgia really wanted to keep its Pre-K program, it would have been much easier to require the Lottery Corp. to pay its “suggested” percentage to education, and/or charge tuition on a sliding scale for students attending state Pre-K. There would have been far fewer strings attached, and the program could actually have been funded, rather than adding to our ever-increasing credit tab to China.
Much easier to attack teachers than to address the real problems facing education in Georgia.
Observer
December 17th, 2011
12:23 pm
Funny, but both Beverly Fraud and Top School seem to have the same message, and both of them write half their posts in capital letters…and half the posts in these blogs lately seem to be by one or the other.
And get off Obama, already. He’s not the subject of this post. Go over to Wingfield’s blog.
Observer
December 17th, 2011
1:00 pm
And also, on many of these blogs recently, right after Beverly Fraud has posted, Dr. Trotter shows up to praise her wit and insight to the skies.
Will be nice when Maureen finally gets the name registration in order for this blog so everyone will only have 1 moniker per ID.
Dr. John Trotter
December 17th, 2011
1:52 pm
@ Observer: Sorry to disappoint you but I am not Beverly Fraud. I am, however, a fan of Bev. I am not so conceited that I cannot acknowledge that others write cogently and poignantly. I enjoy Bev’s insights and his or her ability to put forth some zingers.
@ Top School: My friend, I appreciate your persistency, but don’t think for a moment that I have not regularly (but not nearly as often) skewered the “coalition” of Buckhead business moguls and the Northside mommies who enjoyed their “independence” apparently granted to them by Beverly Hall. In fact, this week or last week, Maureen ran the article about the forced student transfers. I chimed in on this theme then and even called for folks to inquire as to who was selling the land to the school system for the new schools. This was not the first time I have urged people to “follow the money.” I believe that the land which was determined to be the location of the new Buckhead high school was being bought (or at least negotiated for) from one of the wealthiest families of Atlanta. I will not name the family (though I did, I believe, in a previous post) but this family apparently made the lion’s share of its post-Civil War money in Georgia in railroad construction, construction that was undertaken mainly by convict labor. I know a little about this convict labor (”Slavery Under Another Name,” as it is now referred to) since my great, great grandfather, Robert A. Alston, who was chairman of the Penitentiary Committee in the Georgia House of Representatives, led the charge in Georgia to have his state “disenthralled from this great sin” (to quote Alston’s letter to a member of this aforementioned family which was written and/or published on December 25, 1878 in The Atlanta Daily Constitution [the AJC's papa paper]). Robert A. Alston was murdered in the Georgia Capitol on March 11, 1879. I know a little bit about what money will drive people to do. You don’t have to watch a movie like Brubaker to know that corruption abounds when it comes to privilege and money.
Top Gun, I do appreciate your courage to speak out, but be careful not to speak out against those who are your friends and allies. Keep the faith, brother!
Dr. John Trotter
December 17th, 2011
2:12 pm
@ Observer: One other thing…why would I use a pseudonym? Ha! If I am praising things which Beverly Hall is writing, isn’t this putting my imprimatur on what she (or he…I don’t know who Bev really is) is saying? Besides, I enjoy blogging under my real name. Whom do I fear? I will quote a teacher who was on the staff where I was an administrator and was in the middle of a great controversy: “Dr. Trotter, you are impervious to pain.”
People don’t tend scare nor intimidate me. Now this doesn’t mean that I need to rush in where angels fear tread, right? I try to use wisdom but also try to live without fear and trepidation.
Observer, I don’t need to use an alias. People know me, and people know how forthcoming and candid (some say “blunt”) that I am. I don’t try to be politically correct either, though I try not to go out of my way to needlessly offend the innocent. For example, we have had parties for MACE teachers and friends for 17 years during the Holiday Season. We have never called it a “Christmas Party” because I realize that many MACE members are Muslims or Hindus or of other faiths. Therefore, we have always referred to having “the Holiday BASH” or “the Holiday Mix & Mingle.” Now this might raise the ire of some of the FOX News talking heads, but I just believe that we should be sensitive to others. But, if I find that a MACE teacher has been treated unprofessionally, callously, rudely, and stupidly, then politeness is set aside. Would you politely run into a burning house to try to rescue people in danger of dying? When angry and abusive administrators callously try to kill the professional careers of good, effective, and conscientious teachers, then there is not virtue in being polite and it is not the order of the day.
Observer
December 17th, 2011
2:20 pm
@ Dr. John Trotter, “One other thing…why would I use a pseudonym?”
It’s a familiar trick on a blog where posters may remain anonymous, to make it seem as if there is a landslide of support when actually there is only the one hand clapping.
Mountain Teacher
December 17th, 2011
3:22 pm
I’m a Pre-K teacher, and I think I’ve said this before here, but I would love to see Pre-K come under the auspices of the state BOE and see all eligible 4-year-olds able to attend, instead of a select few who get a spot. Pre-K is now what Kindergarten used to be; colors, numbers, letters, social skills, large and small motor skills, beginning math and literacy skills. Even though it looks like they’re “just playing,” there is so much more going on than that. Four-and-five-year-olds learn by doing, and Pre-K is structured enough to have Content Standards, but flexible enough to allow the students to learn the way they do best — by “doing.” As a Pre-K teacher, I can see a child learning about patterns when he/she builds a wall with alternating red and blue color cubes. I can test their knowledge of book-handling skills by pretending to not know how to hold a book right-side-up and see who catches it and corrects me. I can expose them to the natural world by pointing out the squirrels who populate the pecan trees next to our playground and talk about how they’re collecting nuts for winter. I can show them how to roll clay balls and ropes and thus strengthen their small motor muscles in preparation for correctly holding a pencil and scissors. I can teach them how to follow rules and routines in school (I work in a Pre-K class in a school system) and better prepare them for social interaction with others in the following school years. There are so many more concepts than just these that I’ve mentioned, but these are just a few examples of what we Pre-K teachers see and do every day. We individualize for all our students every week depending on their individual needs, and we provide loving guidance and a positive first school experience for the students who are in our classrooms.
Top School
December 17th, 2011
6:17 pm
There is only 1% of us speaking… ? I think that explains where this will go.
And I have a name…most know it…and Maureen has my email address.
The land hand something to do with the name “GRANT”
I would think Warren Fortson and John Grant could easily explain. They are both working the APS from the GEORGIA PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS COMMISSION.
I think it is ironic that the corruption seems to go round and round in the same inner circle.
They have nothing to fear…there is only 1% of the population willing to speak up.
Dr. Trotter…Beverly Fraud…ChillyWilly…and a few others.
We do not have any power over the 99% running this show.
Ed Johnson
December 17th, 2011
8:10 pm
“I try to use wisdom but also try to live without fear and trepidation.”
Nicely said, Dr. Trotter. Nicely said.
Top School
December 17th, 2011
8:48 pm
@ Dr. Trotter said…”Top Gun, I do appreciate your courage to speak out, but be careful not to speak out against those who are your friends and allies.”
Not sure who I offended or spoke out against that would be my friends and allies…
or what I said that was considered offensive. Don’t beat around the bush…get to the point.
I can say this…when it comes to off the topic discussion and utterly ridiculous personal information shared on this blog…in some of the longest ego paragraphs ever written @ Dr. Trotter has been given special privilege by the “Get Schooled” censor.
Trotter can state it like no other…humor, wit, and sometimes the angle?#$%**&^ … but his opinion and comments are valued or should I say tolerated. Kind of like the “jester” in the room.
I don’t consider the AJC, Maureen, or numerous others in Buckhead friends or allies. I just tell what I know from my personal experiences as a former insider, facts, with documentation that support what I believe to be true.
I don’t like pretending…when the truth is obvious. I think many like “Dr. Trotter” have been taught to stay in their place…and if they do so…they are tolerated…and given a place inside the house at the main table.”
What has been established since my posting began…
I am considered a traitor in Buckhead for telling the truth about Northside APS schools. The only person that would tell you the truth … once an insider and played the game…I gathered the information that exposes their game.
I do not care to rub noses and elbows any longer with those involved in this illusion of success.
I used the APS northside schools until there was no use for them. Their secrets became to disgusting for me to continue my involvement…even if only to gather the information of their corruption.
If my comments on this blog are made to “speak out” against those hiding the truth. I think the comments I make are serving their purpose. Even if they are censored.
…AND I AM ATTEMPTING TO CONFORM TO THE LOWER CLASS (CASE) typing so all can read with ease
http://www.youtube.com/user/TopSchoolAtlanta?feature=mhee
Top School
December 17th, 2011
8:54 pm
%$#%%^%$^??? How does discussing the “holiday bash” for MACE…have anything to do with this blog?
Topic:
Get Schooled
In race for early childhood millions, Georgia was not at the top of fed’s list this time around
Top School
December 17th, 2011
11:12 pm
So…Maureen
Why don’t you verify to your readers that we are all certifiably insane individuals. We are the 1% that waste our time trying to make a difference. We are considered the crazy ones…the blasphemers of leaders in politics and education.
You have no problem putting us under “moderation” and in the corner with tape over our mouths when we’ve attempted to say too much.
Why not step forward and verify our existence?
Honestly…The reason why there is any truthful information in the media is because someone took time on a blog to question the unethical conduct of individuals in positions of authority. Blogs = Exposure.
Observer
December 18th, 2011
12:23 pm
@ Top School, “The reason why there is any truthful information in the media is because someone took time on a blog to question the unethical conduct of individuals in positions of authority.”
Ridiculous statement. Blogs permitting anonymity CANNOT serve as a source of serious information. They are unverifiable, and in this country the accused is supposed to be able to face his or her accuser. There’s no way of knowing if one person with a lot of aliases is writing many posts, or if the poster is lying.
Blogs can be valuable as a way of learning from those with experience, as with the many anecdotal testimonies here from educators–teachers and principals. (And an occasional former college president, as with Dr. Jerry Eads.)
I don’t know the reasons for “moderation” on this blog. I’ve had posts held “in moderation” for a time myself. I assume that some ID names are routinely held for awhile if they’ve posted problematic entries before. I would think also that grounds for moderation would be posts with libelous accusations against identified persons, repeated postings by the same named blogger that ramble on and don’t relate to the topic, loooong posts that cut-and-paste the blogger’s previous posts and/or go on incessantly about personal events in the blogger’s life. And some of those sort of posts often HAVE gotten through moderation here. Trying for others to read.
To quote Shakespeare: “Methinks the lady doth protest too much.”
Top School
December 18th, 2011
5:03 pm
“Real” information is leaked through blogs…
As with the tabloids …
Cheap…gossip…rumor…and talking around the cooler is inside information…
Whistle blowers are encouraged not to expose who they are.
The should remain anonymous and leak the information out through the agencies that use media through blogs to strategically expose the corruption.
I did it for 10+ years which is what eventually caused news reporters in AJC to start asking the right questions to expose cheating and corruption in Atlanta Public Schools.
Planting the seeds in the right places with the right amount of manure and sunlight…will make the truth grow and seed again. Which makes change…
Your ignorance is ridiculous…get your head out of the sand and add the proper fertilizer.
My name is exposed. I would suggest you read blogs and tabloids to get the first wave of information. After news has been raised to national level…it is old news and those exposed are like an exposed CIA agent. Their cover and ability to gather any additional information is over. They are the pawn or scapegoat used at the height of the media frenzy once the actual “old” news has been “out” for some time.
Think about PENN STATE media spin…that’s all old news. And look how long those rumors existed.
The Catholic Church… the lists go on and on.
Most news starts as rumor…in the cheap blogs and tabloids.
and later is caught in the safety net of local and national news as those in positions of leadership attempt to put out the media fire.
I am a trained whistleblower…been doing this a long time… was undercover…now obnoxiously in your face about APS. Which means…most people are not going to listen to what I have to say.
I train other whistleblowers…once you are exposed by name your cover has been blown. And your whistleblowing days are over.
See whistle while you work
at http://www.whistleblower.org/multimedia/whistle-where-you-work
Once your name is exposed…like Dr. Trotter…and myself….your information is useless.
Top School
December 18th, 2011
5:36 pm
@ observer…
It is an honor to have @ Dr. Trotter and @ Beverly Fraud…sitting at my table. I’ve not had the opportunity to meet them individually but if they ever get off their own “ego trip” they can contact me through my website. I did contacted Dr. Trotter…but he did not respond. I am not sure how to contact @Beverly Fraud
Seriously … to serve us at the HOLIDAY PARTY will take 3 place settings … my mama taught me not to eat off another persons plate…and to use my own fork and knife…AND I THINK IT IS NASTY TO DRINK FROM SOMEONE’S CUP.
Obviously you’ve not visited the website…my name and contact information is posted. Google the info and the actual lawsuit and names are public record.
http://www.youtube.com/user/TopSchoolAtlanta?feature=mhee
Observer
December 18th, 2011
5:37 pm
@Top School. I’ll note the obvious…your name sure is not exposed on here, where you simply are “Top School.” You can make all the grandiose claims you want, but there’s no way of knowing whether they’re true or not. However, you certainly seem to enjoy dominating this blog.
Observer
December 18th, 2011
6:13 pm
@ Top School.
Gee Whiz!! Your name is exposed “…like Dr. Trotter”; you’ve been a whistle-blower on APS and you train whistle-blowers; you have a website… Could it be…….that you too, like Beverly Fraud, ARE Dr. John Trotter???!!!
Top School
December 18th, 2011
10:05 pm
Please…no body has time for this.
@ Observer…Ask Maureen to verify…
The website states my name at http://www.TopPublicSchoolCorruptionAtlanta.com
And I think it’s all over the web.
http://www.facebook.com/TopPublicSchoolCorruptionAtlanta
http://www.toppublicschoolcorruptionatlanta.com/?page_id=2
2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 11987,*;225 Fed. Appx. 84
JOHN SAM, JR., ALL ABOUT LEARNING AFTER SCHOOL, INC., Plaintiffs-Appellants, versus LORRAINE B. REICH, BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE CITY OF ATLANTA, ATLANTA INDEPENDENT SCHOOL SYSTEM, Defendants-Appellees.
I think you post before you research your facts.
@ observer is an appropriate name…But maybe you should change to
@ blow …to express how you respond without really investigating the facts provided.
Honestly…this is Maureen’s blog…she should be glad anyone responds…MOSTLY BECAUSE IT IS A WASTE OF TIME AND ENERGY.
Top School
December 18th, 2011
10:12 pm
as for @Dr. Trotter…he is real and has a verifiable website too.
@ Beverly Fraud…I am not sure if it is a male or female…but he/she has valid points that just happen to be on the same page.
no need to worry…We are only 1% ….no need to fear of a “take over”…
Besides ON…Dec. 21, 2012 NEXT YEAR…all human GREED AND EGO will end on this earth.
That’s enough to keep you worried. I am ready for the SPACE SHIP. I am not worried at ALL.
Observer
December 19th, 2011
11:01 am
@ Top School, 10:05. You know quite well that Maureen is not going to “verify” anything.
This is the first time you’ve posted any web site, or given any facts, in your posts here. The Facebook page you cite here is “Not Available.” I checked the website address you post, and still am not sure…is your name John Sam, Jr., or what? No information is given on this website, only an account of the legal outcome of a 2007 lawsuit against an APS administrative official and this Sam person.
2007 is a long time ago…many don’t remember a thing about this dramatic lawsuit you’re citing…or even, to tell you the truth, much about Dr. Trotter’s history in Clayton County in 2008.
Move on. You (and Beverly Fraud and Dr. Trotter) keep alluding in your innumerable posts to conspiracies and events that are long ago, in the pre-APS Report era. I can remember the events of the Vietnam War, but don’t talk about them.
Top School
December 20th, 2011
12:31 am
I am going to choose to ignore your ignorance.
Beverly Hall served in a position of authority for 10+ years…
My information is documented during that time and clearly documents the retaliation that was used to silence the masses.
I’ve moved on… but I continue to post …because…to date…not a leader in APS has been held accountable…and many INVOLVED IN THE CORRUPTION ARE STILL EMPLOYEES of APS.
As an @observer…you don’t know much.
John Sam… I am… and I experienced APS fraud and corruption first hand.
As for VIETNAM…i think many can compare it to the most recent war…
Your comment is does not deserve a response. I think your title speaks volumes…@ observer
Nothing else needs to be said… your position is clear.
Top School
December 20th, 2011
1:06 am
History does speak highly of OBSERVERS during the HOLOCAUST…the Civil Rights Movement… Vietnam…and the list can go on forever.
I am not an OBSERVER.
Observer
December 20th, 2011
10:43 am
@ Top School. I was an observer of the Vietnam War not a participant, because I’m female and in those days women weren’t drafted. I’m not a K-12 teacher, in APS or elsewhere, so I only know of the Beverly Hall fascist regime through hearsay… which at this point has been pretty voluminous. So that’s why I term myself “Observer.” I think that many of the readers here are the same, whether bloggers or lurkers.
Clearly that regime has left many of those who lived through it with a sort of PTSD, and evidently you’re one of them.
But this is still playing out in the courts, and we don’t know how it will end. As an “observer” only, it seems to me that the entire APS culture has changed, however. From what you say here, you helped to bring about that change and that is to be admired. But give the reminders and postings about this past a rest….people will just ignore them after awhile.
There’s an old Russian folk-saying that’s relevant here: God sees the truth, but waits.