Contrary to (early) popular belief, Missouri is aiming to participate in the first round of the federal $4.3 billion Race to the Top competition.

Yes, new education Commissioner Chris Nicastro told the Missouri legislature’s Joint Committee on Education last month that she did not believe the state would be ready for the comp’s first stages.

But, since then, the federal time line has changed.

Charter advocates still worry that the state’s “geographical cap” on charter schools — only allowing them in St. Louis and Kansas City — could irritate the feds and handicap the state’s application.

Still, Missouri is now aiming to be included in the comp.

“As of now, we don’t know when the first round is,” said Jim Morris, spokesman for the state department of ed. “The commissioner is serious about pursuing this aggressively. We’re going after it.”

Nicastro announced formal plans this morning:

Commissioner of Education Chris L. Nicastro today announced plans for soliciting public input on Missouri’s grant proposal for “Race to the Top” funds, a $4 billion federal initiative intended to stimulate education reform across the country.

She is convening more than 200 Missouri educators, lawmakers, business leaders and others in Jefferson City on Nov. 23 to weigh in on the state’s application. The day-long forum will be held at the Capitol Plaza Hotel.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has been working in recent weeks to marshal the resources to support the grant proposal, with the goal of submitting an application early next year, she said.

Although Race to the Top applications were originally expected to be available early this fall, the U.S. Department of Education has not released the final application form yet. The due dates for Round 1 and Round 2 of the application process have not yet been determined.

“We have been working hard to assemble the resources that will enable us to develop an innovative and competitive proposal. I think the competition for these funds will be intense, and I want to do everything we can to make sure Missouri is in the running,” Nicastro said.

Only states may submit applications for the competitive grants. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will coordinate the grant-writing process, in consultation with the governor’s office. The final Race to the Top application must be submitted by Gov. Jay Nixon, the State Board of Education and Commissioner Nicastro.

The grant proposals must address four principle topics or themes:

• Academic standards and assessments
• Data systems that support instruction
• Recruiting and retaining great teachers and school leaders
• Support for struggling or low-performing schools

“We are going to have an inclusive process that gives many stakeholders the opportunity to contribute. Our objective is to create an ambitious proposal to support educational reform over the next decade and beyond,” Nicastro said.