California was not selected to qualify for the first round of Race to the Top education money, it was announced today by the U.S. Department of Education.

According to the DOE press release, the following states were selected as Phase 1 finalists to compete for a slice of the $4.35 billion Race to the Top pie: Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Tennessee.

“Everyone that applied for Race to the Top is charting a path for education reform in America,” said U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan in the press release. “I salute all of the applicants for their hard work. And I encourage non-finalists to reapply for Phase 2.”

The 16 finalists were chosen from among the 40 states and the District of Columbia that submitted applications for Phase 1, and winners of the 16 will be announced in April.

Applications for Phase 2 are due on June 1, finalists will be announced in August and winners announced in September, according to the DOE. States that received awards in Phase 1 are prohibited from applying for Phase 2.

In a letter to governors, Duncan said, “If your state is not a finalist, I applaud you for applying and urge you to reapply in Phase 2. While I cannot predict how many awards we will make in the first round of funding, I assure you there will be plenty of money remaining in the program after the first round of funding is complete.

“At the conclusion of the Phase 1 competition, we will send you your scores and reviewer comments, which will be helpful in developing your Phase 2 application.”

Phase 1 finalists were chosen after detailed readings of states’ applications by a panel of five peer reviewers, with each state’s final score the average of the five scores. The highest 16 scores were selected.

The finalists will present their proposals to the panel in mid-March. “The purpose of the finalist stage is to allow reviewers to ensure that the state has the understanding, knowledge, capacity and the will to truly deliver on what is proposed,” reads the news release.

It is undetermined as yet how many Phase 1 winners will be selected.

“We are setting a high bar and we anticipate very few winners in Phase 1,” Duncan said. “But this isn’t just about the money. It’s about collaboration among all stakeholders, building a shared agenda and challenging ourselves to improve the way our students learn.

“I feel that every state that has applied is a winner – and the biggest winners of all are the students.”

In his letter to the governors, Duncan called Race to the Top a historic program that “has been a catalyst for education reform across this country, prompting states like yours to think deeply about how to improve their education system.”

Duncan said he expects no more than half the available money to be awarded in Phase 1, “to ensure a robust competition in Phase 2.”