Kentucky Teacher

The Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office has available funding under the COPS Secure Our Schools (SOS) 2011 grant program. Subject to final funding availability, approximately $14 million will be available under SOS to provide funding to law enforcement agencies to assist with the development of school safety resources and provide improved security at schools and on school grounds.

Specifically, this program will fund up to 50 percent of the total cost to implement one or more of the following options: placement and use of metal detectors, locks, lighting and other deterrent measures; security assessments; anti-violence initiatives; security training of personnel and students; coordination with local law enforcement; and/or any other measure that may provide a significant improvement in security. Applicants will be required to demonstrate a comprehensive approach to preventing school violence. Continue Reading

The Fiscal Year 2010 annual report of the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority (KHEAA) and the Kentucky Higher Education Student Loan Corporation (KHESLC) is now available online.

The annual report can be found online at http://www.kheaa.com/ and http://www.kheslc.com/. On the KHESLC website, click on About Us in the left-hand navigation menu. On the KHEAA site, click on Reports at the top of the page.

KHEAA is the agency that administers the state’s college financial aid programs, including the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES). It also provides free college planning and financial literacy publications and programs throughout Kentucky.

KHESLC makes and services student loans to help Kentuckians pay for college. Its income from those activities supports state college aid programs and KHEAA’s outreach efforts.

To learn how to plan and prepare for higher education, visit http://www.gotocollege.ky.gov/. For more information about Kentucky scholarships and grants, visit http://www.kheaa.com/; write KHEAA, P.O. Box 798, Frankfort, KY 40602; or call toll-free (800) 928-8926, ext. 6-7372.

Twenty new high schools are joining AdvanceKentucky, bringing to 64 the number of high schools in the state that are implementing the AP Teacher Training and Incentive Program (APTIP).

This program involves content-rich teacher training and extensive support and incentives for students and teachers for achieving qualifying scores (3 or higher) on Advanced Placement (AP) exams in mathematics, science and English.

The model has demonstrated its ability in Kentucky schools to dramatically increase access to and accelerate learning in rigorous mathematics, science and English courses, as shown by qualifying scores on AP exams, particularly among underrepresented student populations.

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The Kentucky Association for Environmental Education (KAEE) has issued a call for presenters for its 2011 conference, “Environmental Education: Everywhere for Everyone,” scheduled for Sept. 16-17 in Louisville.

KAEE represents teachers, government, industry, parents and students. Conference attendees are looking for environmental resources, field trip opportunities and innovative ideas for bringing environmental education to diverse audiences of all ages.

Click here for the Exhibitor Registration Form for details on how to become an exhibitor at this year’s conference. Those who prefer not to exhibit but would like to be a conference sponsor can go to http://www.kaee.org and click on “Conference” for more details.

The National Teacher Registry is a new and free service for teachers and schools, preschool through college. On the National Teacher Registry website, a teacher or school can create a wish list of the items needed for classroom from the 150,000 educational items online from national suppliers and discounters at no markup.

Once a Wish List is created, a direct link to the registry can be sent by the teacher or school to parents and friends. Parents and friends can access the list on the Internet, purchase items from the list, and have the items delivered directly to the teacher or school. In many cases this is a charitable donation which can be deducted on the purchaser’s tax return.

Teachers can go to NationalTeacherRegistry.com today and create a wish list. The National Teacher Registry will then help share the news.

The Kentucky Geological Survey has several classroom activities on geologic time posted online at www.uky.edu/KGS/education/about_time.htm

Kentucky has contracted with NCS Pearson Inc. to provide content-area tests for public school grades 3 through 8 and for writing assessments at the high school level.

Pearson provides large-scale assessment services in more than 25 states and for the U.S. Department of Education. The company will provide project management; test development; administration materials; test scoring and resolution; data files; score reporting; quality assurance; security; and technical specifications. The initial contract period of April 15, 2011, through June 30, 2012, is for a total of $7,661,811 and may be renewed for three additional two-year periods. Continue Reading

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) will provide tools to analyze resource decisions to improve school districts’ operational processes and free resources to invest in the work of Senate Bill 1 through the Performance Excellence Connection Project.

The “Kentucky Best Practices” website is a component of the project, and it will enable school districts to share solutions to common operational issues. Best practices and promising approaches may be submitted by superintendents, principals, finance officers, directors of pupil personnel, district assessment coordinators and others in management roles. These electronic submissions will be reviewed by trained reviewers, then approved submissions will be posted and catalogued so every school and district leader can easily search for successful processes and network with others facing similar challenges.

The website address and more information on how to use it will be released soon.

Also, in collaboration with the Kentucky School Boards Association, the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents, the Kentucky Association of School Administrators, the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and the Kentucky Center for Performance Excellence, KDE is planning a one-day conference on “Improving Productivity in Kentucky Schools and Districts” in Louisville on Sept. 9.

Every district can send a team of three to the conference, and a school board member may be a member of those teams. National experts will speak on education productivity, and Kentucky education leaders who have submitted best practices for the new website will share approaches that have worked for them. More details on the conference will come soon.

The Kentucky Educational Collaborative for State Agency Children sponsors “Where the Heart Is,” a network of educators with the goal of creating a sense of welcome and belonging for students transitioning to new schools and education programs. “Where the Heart Is” is looking for school staff to serve as contacts on the behalf of students in need. For more information about getting involved in “Where the Heart Is” or becoming a contact for a school, contact Ann Brewster, Pam Ferguson or Amy Marshall.