The Department of Education has announced a second Race to the Top - District grant competition and is looking for qualified individuals to serve as peer reviewers. This competition will build on the success of past Race to the Top competitions and support bold, locally directed improvements in learning and teaching that will directly improve student achievement and educator effectiveness.

More specifically, the Race to the Top - District grant competition will reward those local educational agencies (LEAs) that have the leadership and vision to implement the strategies, structures, and systems of support to move beyond one-size-fits-all models of schooling, which have struggled to produce excellence and equity for all children, to personalized, student-focused approaches to learning and teaching that will use collaborative, data-based strategies and 21st century tools to deliver instruction and supports tailored to the needs and goals of each student, with the goal of enabling all students to graduate college- and career-ready.

TO APPLY

To be considered to serve as a peer reviewer for the Race to the Top - District program, please go to the following link to submit your resume/curriculum vitae, a personal biography of fewer than 250 words, and complete the Peer Reviewer Questionnaire as soon as possible:  APPLY HERE.

We will vet reviewers for relevant conflict(s) of interest. Please note, at the end of the review process, the name and a short bio of each peer reviewer will be posted on the Race to the Top - District   website. We will not associate the names of peer reviewers with the applications they reviewed.

REVIEWER QUALIFICATIONS

In order to ensure a successful competition, we are seeking qualified individuals with expertise in some or all of the following areas to serve as peer reviewers:

• Four core educational assurances (college- and career-ready standards and assessments, data systems and data use, great teachers and leaders, and school turnaround);
• Personalized learning environments;
• District reform and school level operations;
• Educating students in rural areas;
• Application review and evaluation; and
• Serving high-needs students.

AVAILABILITY

Generally, Department staff will need to be able to contact reviewers during normal business hours throughout the review period.  We anticipate that reviewers will need to commit to the following review process:

• Reviewers will need to be available for a two-day in-person training session in Washington, DC in October 2013;
• Reviewers will be expected to read, score, provide comments on, and discuss by phone approximately three Race to the Top - District  applications during an off-site review beginning in mid-October and lasting through mid-November;
• Reviewers may be invited to participate in an in-person panel review in Washington, DC in mid- to late November.

FURTHER INFORMATION

As with other Federal grant competitions, reviewers will receive compensation for their time and effort, contingent upon satisfactory completion of the review requirements and consistent with the required schedule. Travel costs to the events in Washington, DC will also be covered.

QUESTIONS

Please direct all questions to the Race to the Top Peer Review inbox at RTTDLogistics@mikogroup.com.