Tennessee was one of just two states selected on March 29, 2010, to receive millions of dollars for education in the first round of the federal government's Race to the Top competition. Tennessee was awarded $501 million to implement a comprehensive set of school reform plans ("Tennessee First to the Top") to ensure that all Tennessee students graduate college and career ready.

Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools ("MNPS") was awarded $30.3 million of Race to the Top funds from the Tennessee Department of Education to allocate to its own set of comprehensive reform plans aligned with the State's goals, and targeted to the five key areas of reform outlined by the U.S. Department of Education. Additionally, MNPS has been awarded $2 million for a teacher residency program, $1.0 million for the STEM Innovation Network and approximately $3.7 million to turnaround low performing schools, for a current total of $37 million.