By Ben Velderman
EAGnews.org

AUSTIN, Texas – U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan probably wasn’t expecting many Christmas cards from teacher union leaders, but he may not get any at all after this week’s announcement that two Texas charter schools were among this year’s federal Race to the Top winners.

On Tuesday, Duncan announced that Texas’ Harmony Public Schools and IDEA Public Schools will be awarded a portion of the $400 million Race to the Top purse.

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Some of the award money will be used to give students greater access to digital learning options – another teacher union boogeyman.

The schools “were the first Texas school organizations and among three charter networks nationwide to win” Race to the Top money, which is “designed to spark innovation and reform,” reports MySanAntonio.com.

Race to the Top money still flows mostly to traditional public schools, where teacher unions still rule the roost and cash in their close ties to the Obama administration.

The fact that several charters broke through the money barrier is a very good sign.

The Texas charters were chosen because of their undeniable record of student success. The IDEA schools – which serve 13,000 students from kindergarten through high school in multiple cities – were awarded Texas’ highest possible effectiveness rating in 2011. The majority of Harmony’s 33 schools are also highly ranked, reports the news site.

That must gall critics who claim public charter schools are no better than their government-run counterparts.

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According to IDEA Public Schools founder and CEO Tom Torkelson, the Race to the Top victory simply reaffirms that “by any objective measurement” the charter school system is doing a good job of instructing its mostly low-income student population.

“I think with our track record and our vision of where we’re going, we are a safe investment,” Torkelson told MySanAntonio.com.

IDEA school leaders will use the winnings to buy computers, improve teacher training, expand online learning opportunities and provide summer programs to help students either catch-up or jump ahead in their learning, the news site reports.

Harmony schools plan to expand their project-based learning program for students.

Giving tax dollars to charter schools in order to increase online learning options for students is one of the teacher unions’ worst nightmares. Charter schools typically don’t hire union teachers, and online learning programs need fewer teachers than most schools.

Give Duncan credit for using Race to the Top to identify and reward genuine academic success, instead of simply granting political favors to union friends.

It’s a decision that’s sure to cost him at least a few Christmas cards.