Federal grant money is on the way to schools in D.C. and Maryland.
They're among the 10 jurisdictions winning U.S. Department of Education grants in its "Race To The Top" competition.
Schools across the country were challenged to make ambitious changes to improve education and close the achievement gap. Some have already increased teacher accountability policies and lifted caps on charter schools to give them an edge in the competition.
Washington will receive $75 million, Maryland won $250 million.
They're splitting $3.4 billion in grant money with the other winning states: Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Rhode Island.
D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee says the fact that the District has won the competition demonstrates how far the school system has come over the past three years, when it was under high risk status with the Department of Education over the misuse of federal funds.
In Prince George's County, Superintendent Dr. William Hite says the money will be used to continue his district's effort to connect teacher evaluations with student performance, among other things.
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This is the second round of competition.
Tennessee and Delaware were named winners in the first round and shared $600 million.
