Baltimore County Public Schools and Baltimore City Public Schools, finalists in the Race to the Top-District Competition, were not among the districts selected to partake in a $400 million grant to improve schools.
Had they been selected, the local school districts would have received four-year awards ranging from $10 to $40 million dollars, based on the number of students served.
The U.S. Department of Education named the 16 school district winners in an announcement on its website Tuesday.
"The Race to the Top-District grantees have shown tremendous leadership though developing plans that will transform the learning environment and enable students to receive a personalized, world-class education," said Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education, in the statement.
Baltimore County and Baltimore City were among 61 school district finalists chosen out of a pool of 372 applicants for the federal grants in November, according to the department.
Launched in 2009, the Race to the Top grant competition was designed to inspire education reform nationwide by increasing student achievement and educator effectiveness, the statement reads.
The following school districts were awarded federal funds through the grant:
- Carson City School District, Nevada
- Charleston County School District, South Carolina
- Galt Joint Union School District, California
- Green River Regional Educational Cooperative, Kentucky
- Guilford County Schools, North Carolina
- Harmony Science Academy (Harmony Public Schools), Texas
- IDEA Public Schools, Texas
- Iredell-Statesville Schools, North Carolina
- KIPP DC, Washington D.C.
- Lindsay Unified School District, California
- Metropolitan School District of Warren Township, Indiana
- Middletown City School District, New York
- Puget Sound Educational Service District, Washington
- School Board of Miami-Dade County, Florida
- St. Vrain Valley Schools, Colorado