GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

When the Obama administration announces winners of the second Race to the Top competition later today, New York will not be on the list.

That’s according to the Associated Press, which reports that nine states are sharing the $500 million in funding for early childhood programs. Those states are California, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island and Washington, a source at the U.S. Department of Education told the AP.

Being shut out means New York will not get federal funding to build a “kindergarten readiness measurement tool” — or a test that all children would take when they enter school. The state had been eligible to receive as much as $100 million.

The nine winners are culled from 35 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, that applied for the federal funds this fall. (more…)

Chancellor Dennis Walcott, in black, finishes mile 8 of the New York City Marathon in Brooklyn Sunday.

Some education types are hobbling after pounding the pavement for 26.2 miles in yesterday’s New York City Marathon.

Wearing supportive kneebands and number 1700 in honor of the number of schools he oversees, Chancellor Dennis Walcott ran his first marathon in less than four and a half hours. His unofficial time, 4:23:51, put him in the top third of male runners in his age group, 60 to 64.

Patrick Sullivan, a member of the Panel for Educational Policy who frequently opposes Walcott’s proposed policies, ran the marathon in 3:48:54, putting him in the top 27 percent of finishers in his age group, 45-50.

Diahann Malcolm, the physical education-teaching principal of Queens’ High School for Law Enforcement and Public Safety who tries to run the marathon every year, finished in 5:09:45.

And GothamSchools intern Jessica Campbell finished her first marathon in 5:20:16. (Congrats!)

Others got in on the action without breaking a sweat. Families from Community Roots Charter School sold homemade baked goods on Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn, a popular cheering spot near the eighth mile of the marathon route. (more…)