Being considered for the grant was the hardest part, or so they thought
Race To The Top, a $5 million federal grant for school reform, had the Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District come up with a proposal to improve educational programs throughout the region's five counties last year. Being considered for the grant was the hardest part, or so they thought.
"We were told that if Michigan secured federal race to the top dollars that we would receive a portion of that so Michigan applied. Round one not successful, Michigan applied, round two not successful from the federal perspective," said TBAISD Superintendent Michael Hill.
Not receiving that grant is leaving the Traverse Bay Area District left with a $6.1 million proposal with no money to support it.
It would have been the "Grand Reimagine Project" covering 18 goals, or outcomes.
"The Reimagine challenge focused on creating emphasis on reimagining the way we educate students providing opportunity beyond the scope of the way we teach and learn today," said TBAISD Information Specialist Heather Jewell.
A few of those outcomes are individual learning plans for pre-K-12 children, access to preschool for 100% of the region's three and four-year-olds, and full responsibility for the readiness of their graduates for college.
Hill says even though they didn't get the money, the hope of getting it made them think and completely redesign the district's plans.
Hill says the vision of this Intermediate School District is for the Traverse Bay Area to have the best educational system in the world.
"We truly believe we can do this, and things like Project Reimagine and those 18 outcomes, move us small steps closer to that vision."
