Original Source | The Oregonian
By Arnie Roblan, Wednesday August 12, 2009

All too often when the debate over educational achievement is raised, we become lost in an abyss of claims and counterclaims about standards, the efficiency of our schools, the need for innovation and a host of other factors that often lose sight of the true goal of our efforts -- to make sure our children are among the best educated in the world.

As we work together to go after our share of funds from President Barack Obama's "Race to the Top" education program, we must not lose sight of our central goal -- increasing student achievement.

We can all take a lesson from Newport residents' successful luring of the new NOAA facility to their fair city as a model for the kind of collaboration we need. There, state, local, private and federal leaders all came together to package a bid that bested those from Seattle and other Northwest communities.

We'll need a similar effort to get these new federal education dollars. Today, we've got a strong framework in place to get us started.

Over the past three years, Oregon has made progress in the state's commitment to education, especially at the preschool level. In the last legislative session, despite our state's budget woes, we increased funding for Head Start and other early intervention programs, knowing full well that a positive start early in life paves the way for educational success.

We've also made a renewed commitment to higher education and community colleges, finding new ways to pump needed dollars into programs that make sure our kids can attend college. Now Obama's "Race to the Top" offers us a new opportunity targeted at K-12, an area that has clearly been hindered by the global recession.

These federal stimulus fund would give us the chance to once again put Oregon educators in the forefront of innovation -- innovation done Oregon's way. Through collaboration and by working with all stakeholders, from parents to students to educators to business, we can create new ways to:

--Improve student achievement and better prepare Oregon's students for success in life.
--Recruit and retain the best teachers and educational leaders.
--Use student performance data to improve our educational practices.
--Turn around low-performing schools.

The Race to the Top Fund gives us a huge opportunity to leverage hundreds of millions of federal dollars that will help us make lasting improvements in our schools and score a real win for all of Oregon's students.

All stakeholders in our state are coming together to submit a winning application for the Race to the Top Fund. This kind of collaborative effort gives us the best chance of securing part of this federal funding.

Oregon works best when everyone works together to accomplish our common goals. Just ask Newport.

Arnie Roblan, a Democrat, represents Coos Bay in the Oregon House of Representatives.