The Green Team got a nice little boost this morning courtesy of Uncle Sam. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced that D.C., along with nine states, won the “Race to the Top” contest for additional federal school funding.

Details on how much money this means for the District haven’t been disclosed, but the timing of the announcement couldn’t have been better for Mayor Adrian Fenty.

The last couple of days have not been kind to Hizzoner. He got walloped in straw polls, made to look like a kind of a pansy on the front page of the Post, and lost the support of the brother of one of his alleged cronies.

But that’s all past tense. Today he gets a federal attaboy along with news reports that the city’s schools opened without the embarrassing glitches that usually mark the first day back from summer vacation. For voters who love Michelle Rhee but aren’t so thrilled with Fenty, this kind of news makes it easier for them to be more confident with their decision to support the mayor.

As for Fenty, well, he’s so happy he even put out a rare statement to reporters:

This is fantastic news for the future of the District of Columbia and its kids. For the past four years, there is nothing that has been a higher priority than public education for my Administration and we are both thrilled and grateful that President Obama and Secretary Arne Duncan are showing support through this grant for our reform efforts to create a world-class education system in the nation’s capital.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery