The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) will have almost a quarter-million dollars of support to put together a grant application for Federal "Race to the Top" funding, Commission Deborah Gist announced today. According to RIDE, the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation will provide $95,000 in support, with the Nellie Mae Education Foundation and the Rhode Island Foundation each contributing $75,000.

"We are so grateful for this generous support from three of our finest philanthropic organizations devoted to improving public education," said Commissioner Gist in a statement. "This support is a great vote of confidence in our pledge to transform Rhode Island schools. With this help, we can be sure that our application for federal Race to the Top funds will be among the strongest from any state. If successful, our application could bring to Rhode Island upwards of $100 million to help us close achievement gaps and advance learning for all."

In material made available to local media, RIDE said they will use the funds from the three foundations to hire national experts to work with RIDE staff in preparing the strategy for Rhode Island education reform. The grant application requires the state to specify in detail how Rhode Island would use the money to support school reform, specifically to improve teacher effectiveness, turn around the lowest-performing schools, build better data systems, and establish world-class standards and assessments.

Resources:
Race to the Top Fund
Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation
Nellie Mae Education Foundation
Rhode Island Foundation

Editorial note: Written substantially from RIDE press release.