No NC winners in district Race to the Top

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and the other 14 N.C. districts that applied for millions of dollars in federal Race to the Top money all fell short,  the U.S. Department of Education announced Wednesday.

The five winners,  who got $10 million to $30 million each,  include a coalition of four rural districts in Clarendon County, S.C.

Race to the Top is the Obama administration's signature program to drive education reform. North Carolina got almost $400 million in 2010,  when the education department awarded grants to 12 states. That money has supported the state's new testing program and the push to use those scores to rate teacher effectiveness,  leading some to argue that the money creates as many problems as benefits.

The feds have held two rounds of competitions for school districts,  with the focus on personalized learning strategies.  In 2012,  Iredell-Statesville Schools was awarded $20 million and Guilford County got $30 million.

The 2013 round,  with less money available,  drew 194 applications.  According to the rankings released this week,  Winston Salem-Forsyth Schools actually outscored two of the five winners,  coming in fourth in total points.  It's not clear from anything I could find why Clarksdale,  Miss.,  and Kentucky Springs,  Ky.,  edged them out.

CMS ranked 83rd,  right behind Wake County  (read the ratings and commentary for all applications,  or go straight to the CMS report).  Cabarrus County fared the best of the Charlotte-area applicants, at No. 16.  That was good enough to make the finalist list but didn't bring money.

Walk in, walk out or neither?

The Nov. 4 date for a N.C. teacher walk-out and/or community walk-ins to support public education is near. So what's going to happen?

I'm not getting any sense that there will be a big wave of "blue flu"  (or whatever the educational equivalent might be),  let alone an actual walk-out.  As I've written before,  it's risky business for teachers to take such a step,  and a lot of them are as unwilling to deprive their kids of classroom time as they are eager to make a point about pay and working conditions.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools decided not to join Iredell-Statesville in holding a districtwide  "walk-in"  to show support for educators.  CMS will hold educator appreciation events later this month,  while letting individual schools decide whether to mark Nov. 4,  spokeswoman Tahira Stalberte said.

I've heard that parents at Elizabeth Lane Elementary in Matthews are planning a festive welcome and breakfast for their teachers on Monday,  and that Ranson Middle School,  the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Association of Educators and Project LIFT are planning events at the north Charlotte school.  And I'm guessing plenty of people will go with a  "wear red for public ed"  show of support.

Update: Teachers at Northwest School of the Arts are planning a day of silence. "Teachers will still be at school and will perform their duties, but they will do it without a voice,"  says a post on a Northwest protest Facebook page.  "On Monday many teachers will be using worksheet packets to help students review. They hope to show the public that (1) their voices are not being heard, (2) classrooms will be silent when the teachers leave the profession, and (3) we must support our highly qualified teachers."  The teachers are also asking parents and other supporters to join them outside the school before and after school hours  "to show support and unity."

Another update:  My colleague Tim Funk just shared a statement from the offices of N.C. Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger and Sen. Neal Hunt calling on state Attorney General Roy Cooper to  "protect our children's safety" during this  "planned teachers strike."

The Berger/Hunt statement says that  "the North Carolina affiliate of the national teachers’ union has stated on record they  'affirm the desire, and right, of educators to use tactics like a walk-out or strike' – a clear violation of North Carolina law."  The link leads to the N.C. Association of Educators site,  but with an  "Oops ... Page Not Found"  message.  Meanwhile,  the only thing I can find on the NCAE site is the statement they posted several weeks ago saying the group does not endorse the walkout.

What else are the rest of you hearing?