Secretary Arne Duncan Announces Race to the Top Phase 2 Finalists

Finally, the Race to the Top Phase 2 (RTT2) finalists were announced today during an important speech at the National Press Club. Of the 35 Race to the Top Phase 2 applicants, 19 were chosen as finalists: Arizona, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and South Carolina.

But the race is not over yet.

In the next few weeks each state has the opportunity to send a team to Washington, D.C. They will make their final case to the U.S. Department of Education who will be deciding which finalists will win a piece of the remaining $3.4B in RTT funding. This is an important chance for states to offer more details about their education reform plans. Education Secretary Arne Duncan mentioned that winners of RTT2 will be announced in late August or early September.

For more information about the Race to the Top Fund and opportunities for expanding afterschool, check out the Race to the Top page on our Afterschool & Economic Recovery & Reinvestment Act section of our Policy and Action Page. Also, stay posted on our blog for an in-depth analysis of these finalists' proposals.

Diana Delfin is Policy and Research Fellow at the Afterschool Alliance. Bio.