Gov. Jan Brewer recently announced that the State of Arizona has officially submitted its application for the second round of Race to the Top to the U.S. Department of Education. Winners of the competitive grant program will be announced in late August or early September.

“Arizona’s innovative and entrepreneurial history of education reform and recent legislative actions make clear that no matter if the state is chosen to receive a Race to the Top grant, the conditions are in place to transform Arizona schools for decades to come,” Brewer said.

Arizona’s Race to the Top plan focuses on goals that will raise student achievement in reading and mathematics, narrow achievement gaps, improve high school graduation rates, and increase college and career readiness.

In addition, the plan sets high goals for AIMS scores, National Assessment of Educational Progress scores, and high school and graduation rates by 2020.

“In the global knowledge economy of the 21st century, Arizona’s continued prosperity depends on innovation – and innovation depends upon the investments we make in the talents of our citizens,” William Harris, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Science Foundation Arizona, said. “We must invest strategically in initiatives that enhance student math and science learning statewide, and this opportunity will significantly impact our ability to succeed.”

So far, Brewer has received more than 70 letters of support from education, government, business, community and philanthropic leaders throughout the state, as well as Memoranda of Understanding from 389 school districts and charter schools.

The University of Arizona recently started construction on the Bioscience Park, a development expected to create high-paying jobs, attract capital investment for emerging industries and sustain long-term economic growth throughout Tucson and Arizona.

The park will include laboratory and office space, a science and technical high school affiliated with Tucson Unified School District, a hotel, a conference center and university housing. About 25 percent of the park will remain open space with courtyards and a greenbelt to encourage community interaction.

Phase one of the park’s development is being funded by a $4.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce‘s Economic Development Administration through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. That grant is one of the largest awarded by the EDA for a research park and among the largest awarded to UA.

The new Bioscience Park is intended to be part of a larger community to be called The Bridges. That project will include residential housing units and retail establishments. There are currently about 100 bioscience companies and organizations in the greater Tucson area.

“In Arizona, the biosciences industry is still in its early stages but growing three times faster than the national average,” Bruce Wright, associate vice president for university research parks, said. “For a state that has long depended on cyclical industries that produce extreme periods of economic bust and boom, the potential return on investment in biosciences is significant, creating huge opportunities for increased private investment, increased federal funding and high-paying, stable jobs.”