School & District Management

Kalamazoo School Wins (That Other) Race to Top

By Erik W. Robelen — May 04, 2010 1 min read
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It’s official. President Obama is heading to Michigan later this spring to deliver the commencement address at Kalamazoo Central High School.

Today, the White House and the Department of Education announced that the school has won the first annual Race to the Top High School Commencement Challenge, which I’ve blogged about a few times lately.

“I congratulate our winner, Kalamazoo Central High School, and all of our six finalists for their innovative and effective approaches to teaching, learning, and preparing students to graduate ready for college and a career,” President Obama said in a press release.

The school was one of more than 1,000 applicants narrowed down by the White House and the Education Department to six high school finalists, the news release explains. Between April 26 and 29, more than 170,000 members of the public voted on the finalist schools, which submitted short videos and essays. President Obama then picked the winner from the three schools with the highest average ratings.

Even if the other schools won’t be seeing the president this spring, the Obama administration said it will work to provide a Cabinet secretary or senior administration official to deliver the commencement address for the five other finalists.

As a special tribute to Kalamazoo Central High, here’s a link to the Glen Miller Band performing, yes, "(I’ve Got a Gal in) Kalamazoo.” Enjoy!

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A version of this news article first appeared in the Curriculum Matters blog.