In the final sprint to polish Race to the Top applications, hundreds of school districts shunned a shot at a share of $4 billion in grants by refusing to sign on to their states' plans for the federal competition. California officials had secured the signatures of 790 local education agencies (leas) late last week, including most of the state's…

With the departure in January 2006 of the first head of the Department of Education's office of innovation and improvement, those who follow the 3 and a half-year-old-office are wondering whether it will continue to play a prominent role in federal policy or whether its influence will fade. Nina Shokraii Rees, a former aide to Vice President Dick…