The U.S. Department of Education is pleased to announce that it is hosting a Technical Assistance Planning Workshop for potential applicants to Phase 2 of the Race to the Top grant competition. At the workshop, representatives from Delaware and Tennessee will discuss their plans and laws, talk about their approaches to building statewide collaboration, and answer your questions. Department staff will also review the Race to the Top selection criteria, requirements, and priorities, and will answer technical questions about the Race to the Top program. This will be a unique opportunity to engage with the winning states and with Department of Education staff and we urge Chief State School Officers and key staff to attend.

The workshop will be held in Minneapolis, Minnesota on April 21, 2010. For those State representatives who cannot attend in person, we will provide a limited number of conference call-in lines. In addition, we will post the transcript of the workshop at www.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop.

The target audience for the workshop is State teams that are leading the Race to the Top effort in their States. States may bring up to five team members. We encourage State teams to register by April 14, 2010 to ensure that priority space is reserved for them. The workshop is also open to support organizations and associations who are working with States on their Race to the Top applications. Members of the public may attend as well if space permits, with a limit of one person per organization. Priority will be given to State team members.

Workshop Registration Information

To register for the Race to the Top Phase 2 Technical Assistance Planning Workshop, please go to http://www.keysurvey.com/survey/302797/4153/. States must complete one registration form that lists all members of their State Race to the Top team who are attending the Phase 2 TA Workshop. Only those individuals on the State's list will be considered members of the State's team. All registrants who are not part of a State's team will be placed on a waitlist. We will send you a confirmation once we determine space availability for non-State participants; you will hear from us on or after April 16, 2010. Attendance for waitlisted registrants will be determined on a first-come, first-served basis, and we apologize in advance for the short notice.

If you are not able to attend in person

The conference call line may also be space-limited. State team members get priority; others will be put on a waiting list and notified as soon as we can determine space availability. If you are a State team member, you will receive an email with call-in information on April 19, 2010. Others will be notified of availability on April 20, 2010, and sent an email with call-in information at that time.

Please Note: The Department is also hosting a technical assistance workshop for potential applicants to the Race to the Top Assessment Competition at the same venue on April 22, 2010. If you are interested in attending the Race to the Top Assessment Competition Technical Assistance Planning Workshop, please visit http://www.keysurvey.com/survey/303884/1cb7/.

We look forward to seeing you in Minneapolis.

Race to the Top Technical Assistance Planning Workshop Preliminary Agenda