Chronicle-Telegram – Word on Thursday that Oberlin Schools was awarded a $718,000 federal taxpayer grant was a nice going away present for Superintendent Geoff Andrews on his last day on the job.

“It’s such a sweet affirmation at the end of this time to get this call from the governor’s office saying, ‘Hey, come get this $700,000 check,’ ” Andrews said Thursday. “I feel fortunate.”

Oberlin Schools was among 300 school districts and 300 charter schools competing for the Race to the Top grant. Race to the Top is a U.S. Department of Education initiative seeking to enhance students’ chances of graduating from college and getting a good job, improve poorly performing schools, better measure student achievement and improve teacher quality, recruitment and retention, according to the department’s website.

Oberlin was one of 13 Northeast Ohio schools receiving a total of $4 million, according to a news release from U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Avon. Brown, who last year wrote to Education Secretary Arne Duncan supporting funding going to Ohio, said the money would “strategically address gaps in delivering a highly effective learning experience to all schools.”

Andrews, named superintendent in 2006, said the district going from academic watch to excellent on the state Department of Education report card in the last several years was a major selling point in obtaining the grant. That every Oberlin high school graduate for the last three years has applied to and been accepted at a college or university also helped.

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