PROVIDENCE — Rhode Island is pulling out all the stops to capture a portion of the $4-billion Race to the Top Fund, a competitive grant by the federal Education Department designed to spur states to make dramatic school reforms.

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan says the fund will reward states that embrace charter schools, tougher teacher evaluations, rigorous academic standards and do more to fix failing schools.

Rhode Island Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist says the state is well-positioned to institute the reforms and will aggressively compete for the unprecedented infusion of federal education money. She has assembled a 23-member steering committee that met for the first time Sept. 16. The group includes lawmakers, parents, students, K-12 and higher education leaders, union officials and representatives from principal, superintendent and school committee organizations.

“We talked about where we are now and where we’d like to see ourselves going,” Gist said of the meeting. “I see very few weaknesses [in the state’s application]. We have to figure out the best way to position ourselves and tell our story.”

Even if the federal government were not enticing states to make significant reforms, Gist said, she would be pushing for the changes.

“We are really seeing this as an opportunity to provide additional resources toward the goals we already have,” she said. “If we are successful with the funding, it will mean we can do things more quickly. But we are moving ahead with all of these efforts whether or not we receive additional funding.”

The Rhode Island Foundation, the Nellie Mae Foundation and a third unnamed donor have agreed to give the state Department of Education money to research reforms in other states and to gather information from groups throughout Rhode Island as the department staff begins the grant-writing process, Gist said. Details about the amount of money and the third donor would be made public in the coming days, she said.

Rhode Island will apply for the first round of grants, due in December. States that are approved will receive the money in March; states are also eligible to apply for a second round of grants later in 2010.

“We have very few barriers and we have a lot to put forward,” Gist said.

However, Duncan has repeatedly said he will not dole out Race to the Top Funds to every state. The grants will go to only a dozen or so states that show initiative and commitment to making substantial education reforms, Duncan says. The applications include a budget and how the state intends to use the funds.

Gist, who became the state’s top schools chief in July, has made improving educator quality the centerpiece of her administration, and has spoken forcefully about the need to improve teacher-training programs, support new and veteran teachers and remove ineffective teachers.

Gist supports a proposal to establish statewide teacher evaluations that require “evidence of student learning,” a critical factor for federal education officials. The proposed educator-evaluation standards will go before public hearings in October.

Her focus on teacher quality and her commitment to assigning teachers based on student need rather than union seniority rules could greatly strengthen the state’s application.

At the same time, Gist’s focus on teacher quality could also alienate her from teachers’ unions, which resist the notion of tying student performance to teacher evaluations and pay. Federal education authorities say they must see widespread state commitment to reforms before they approve any application, including letters of support from unions.

The country’s largest teachers’ union, the National Education Association, has criticized the Race to the Top Fund. But Gist said she is hopeful the NEA affiliate in Rhode Island and the state’s other union, the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers, will support the state’s application.

“We are working very closely with them and would be whether they were part of the application or not,” Gist said. “I am confident we all agree on what needs to happen; what we are sorting out is how we need to do it.”

The steering committee will meet again in November and is planning a series of public forums that will be announced later this fall, Gist said.

jjordan@projo.com