Kentucky Teacher

During the regular session of the 2010 General Assembly, the school calendar issue was once again a major item for discussion. Due to the H1N1 virus, snow days, flood days and many other “disaster” impacts, superintendents once again were faced with difficult decisions about canceling school and scheduling makeup days.

The current two-year budget bill contains requirements for school calendars. The bill’s language says that the school term shall include, at a minimum, the equivalent of 177 six-hour instructional days, which is 1,062 instructional hours. But, it is very clear that the intent of the legislature, supported by the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE), is that school districts should include 177 six-hour instructional days in their 2010-11 calendars. Continue Reading

The Office of Civic Education and Engagement (OCEE) at the University of Louisville has previously met the state’s need for high quality professional development in the area of government and civics. The OCEE partnered with the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) to improve government and civics education in Kentucky. The OCEE has recently closed and will no longer be continuing this work. However, all resources and curricular products that have been produced and created by Kentucky teachers through the network have been posted on KDE’s website for teachers to use in their classrooms. The materials may be accessed at here.

By Matthew Tungate
matthew.tungate@education.ky.gov

Kentucky students who go to a foreign country are sometimes faced with a significant problem – they can’t ask for food. More specifically, they can’t order the food they want, according to Jacque Van Houten, world language and international education consultant for the Kentucky Department of Education.

That’s because students memorize standard food vocabulary, for instance. However, if “peanut” isn’t one of those words, or the student is allergic, “you were out of luck,” she said.

A student might also know a few meals to order, but what if a restaurant didn’t serve any of those dishes?

“You couldn’t even recognize the other words on the menu,” Van Houten said. Continue Reading

Kentucky’s 4th- and 8th-graders outperformed the nation in reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in 2009, but the state needs to improve college enrollment, degree completion and other measures of education progress, a new Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) report shows.

The in-depth report, released by SREB at its annual meeting recently in West Virginia, outlines the state’s progress on the SREB Challenge to Lead Goals for Education. The goals were approved by a commission of the region’s leaders in 2002 and call for major improvements in K-12 student performance, college readiness and other key areas of education in Kentucky and 15 other SREB member states.

“Kentucky can be proud of its progress in education, but all policy-makers and education leaders in SREB states need to continue to make improving all points in the education pipeline a top priority,” said SREB President Dave Spence on the report’s release.

The full report is available at the link provided.

www.sreb.org

In July, Gov. Steve Beshear reappointed two members and named five new members to the Kentucky Board of Education. To give educators throughout the state the opportunity to learn more about the men and women who serve on the state board, Kentucky Teacher presents readers a series of question-and-answer sessions with board members. In this issue we introduce Roger Marcum.

Marcum, of Nelson County, represents the 3rd Supreme Court District. He is a former principal, superintendent and national Milken Educator award winner. In 2006, he was named superintendent of the year by the Kentucky School Boards Association. He is the executive vice president of St. Catharine College in Springfield. Marcum’s term expires April 14, 2014. Continue Reading

Two panels of district leaders and educators have begun working with Kentucky Department of Education staff to develop the state’s new teacher and principal evaluation systems.

The 28-member Teacher Effectiveness Steering Committee includes:

• Ann Porter, Mason County Board of Education member
• Kenneth Galloway, superintendent, Graves County school district
• Tim Hanner, superintendent, Kenton County school district
• Dot Perkins, superintendent, Gallatin County school district

Kentucky School Boards Association (KSBA) Executive Director Bill Scott also serves on this panel.

• The 28-member Principal Effectiveness Steering Committee includes:
• Linda Duncan, Jefferson County Board of Education member
• Susan Compton, superintendent, Russell Independent school district
• Andy Dotson, superintendent, Harrison County school district
• Tim Murley, superintendent, Warren County school district

KSBA Associate Executive Director David Baird and Wilson Sears, executive director of the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents, also serve on this committee.

AP summer institutes advance teacher, student learning

By Susan Riddell
susan.riddell@education.ky.gov

Some teachers come to network. Some want to know about testing changes. Others pick up new strategies for classroom learning, while others want a challenge for themselves.

But the common bond they all share is they want to be better Advanced Placement (AP) teachers.

And there’s no better place for AP teachers to come together than an AP Summer Institute, a week-long program led by experienced AP consultants who offer more than 20 different workshops, according to Julia Roberts, founding director of the institute at Western Kentucky University. Continue Reading

School gardens teaching students, enriching experience for teachers

By Susan Riddell
susan.riddell@education.ky.gov

To Shellie Fuqua, a garden is a place of “meditation, exercise, practicality and spiritualism.”

It’s also a place to learn.

Fuqua, a family consumer science teacher at Bryan Station High School (Fayette County), started a school garden at her school last year. She incorporates the garden with core content to make her students more aware of what the physical world offers them on a daily basis.

“A garden is a place to do something yourself that has visible results,” Fuqua said. ”This builds pride and a connection with nature and the world around us that I feel is incredibly important to a person’s life. I believe that people need a break from the technologies around them a few moments out of each day to stop and smell the tomatoes.” Continue Reading

Recognizing the importance of cultivating today’s youth to be tomorrow’s leaders, the American Red Cross developed the “Young Minds Change Lives” educational scholarship program, which allows high schools to earn up to $2,500 in scholarship money while helping save patients’ lives by hosting blood drives with the Red Cross. The program is available for students who want to host a Red Cross blood drive during the school year or the summer months.

The Red Cross is the largest provider of blood products and specialized laboratory services across the country. As a volunteer-based organization, the Red Cross partners with organizations and institutions in communities to host the blood drives that ensure a safe and adequate blood supply for patients in need. Continue Reading

By Matthew Tungate
matthew.tungate@education.ky.gov

Terra Greer, principal at E.P. Ward Elementary School (Fleming County), learned something interesting while piloting Program Reviews, a new way for measuring how well Kentucky schools are teaching students writing and arts and humanities. She could not find evidence to demonstrate how well her school was providing students with opportunities in the arts and humanities.

“In light of the program review results, we will be making some slight changes to the writing program, but our arts and humanities program will be undergoing a whole new scope and sequence,” Greer said. Continue Reading