After winning hundreds of millions in federal “Race to the Top” money, Tennessee is drawing the attention of leading foundations involved in education.
The state has applied for grants from many of these organizations in the past, but since test scores have ranked near bottom for years, those applications didn’t get much attention. Now, Governor Phil Bredesen says he’s getting unsolicited phone calls from organizations asking how they can get involved.
“All of a sudden when we were not just sort of like a state working hard on education but somebody that really got propelled to the top of the list in this, they’ve suddenly looked up and said, ‘Whoa, there’s something going on. I need to pay some attention down there.’”
He’s not ready to give names, but Bredesen says the state is already talking specifics with some of these groups. Many of them are focused on areas like science and math, but the majority are interested in turning around failing schools.
Bredensen says involvement with these non-profits could put more money in the school system now and the relationships built with them could pay rewards for decades.
Tennessee won $500 million in the first phase of the federal “Race to the Top” program.
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