Kentucky Teacher

Kentucky’s ranking in an annual grading of all states on key education indicators rose dramatically this year, placing the state 14th in the nation for its work on academic standards, the teaching profession and many other variables related to public education.

Each year, Education Week (a national publication that focuses on P-12 education) produces a special issue, “Quality Counts.” The report tracks key education indicators and grades states on their policy efforts and outcomes. Last year,Kentucky ranked 34th in the nation in this annual report.

“Kentuckians should take a great deal of pride in the Commonwealth’s standings related to P-12 education,” said Gov. Steve Beshear. “Kentucky continues to show measureable progress in education, and the rankings provided in ‘Quality Counts’ recognize the hard work of teachers, administrators, parents and community members.”

“Much of the impetus for Kentucky’s high ranking can be traced to 2009’s Senate Bill 1,” said Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday. “That legislation set us on a course to become a leader nationwide, and with the support of Gov. Beshear, legislators, teachers, administrators and parents,Kentucky’s work in school accountability, teacher training, college/career readiness and stronger academic standards is moving us in the right direction.” Continue Reading

The Kentucky School Boards Association (KSBA) is asking school districts and communities to thank and recognize the state’s 872 local board of education members during the January observance of School Board Recognition Month.

“The month of January has become a time for Kentuckians –and, in fact, for people in many other states — to offer their ‘thank yous’ to the men and women who serve on our local boards of education,” said KSBA President and Lincoln County board member Tom Blankenship. “Allow me to add my own nod of appreciation to the 871 other local board members in Kentucky’s 174 school districts. Your work on behalf of your children, your staff and your community deserves a year-round salute, because those labors represent 12 months of study, choices and decisions.”

Education Commissioner Terry Holliday also saluted board members for their service to children and their communities.

“Leaders make a difference, and school board members make a real difference with their long-term policy implications for education,” Holliday said in a video interview posted to the KSBA website. “The local school board is so important because it represents the voice and the political will of the community.

“It’s critical for the school board members to be the eyes and ears of the community,” Holliday said. “The school board sets the vision for the future of the system. Their second most important job is to hire a superintendent to implement that vision through their policies.”

Kentucky State University’s College of Agriculture, Food Science and Sustainable Systems is offering a summer program called “Creating Opportunities for Leadership Transformation and Scholarship (COLTS).”

Information and applications are available on the KSU website at www.kysu.edu/landGrant/educationaloutreach/COLTS/.

KSU offers five summer programs for students in grades 6-12. All programs are residential, scholarship-based and have a STEM component.

For more information, contact JoAna McCoy at (502) 597-5584; Warren Moore at (502) 597-6000, ext. 4211; Shawn Moore at (502) 597-6000, ext. 4210; or Allison Noel at (502) 597-6172.

Since 1984, the Very Special Arts (VSA) International Young Soloist Program has been seeking to identify talented musicians who have a disability.

The VSA International Young Soloists Award is given annually to up to four outstanding musicians, two from the United States and two from the international arena. The award provides an opportunity for these emerging musicians to each earn a $5,000 award, professional development opportunities and a performance at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

 All applicants from Kentucky will be included in the VSA Kentucky statewide program. All applicants will receive a written critique of their submission by a professional musician or music educator and become eligible for the Ginny Miller Award of Excellence in the form of Continue Reading

The University of Kentucky College of Engineering will host its annual Engineers Day open house on Feb. 25 on the Lexington campus from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST, or UK’s Extended Campus Program at Paducah from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. CST.

Engineer’s Day is open to all elementary, middle and high school students and their parents and friends. A drawing will be held for a $4,000 scholarship for a qualified high school student.

There will be more than 20 contests with prizes and giveaways, engineering demonstrations, hands-on experiments, guided lab tours and industry representatives and displays.

For more information on UK’s Engineers Day, go to www.engr.uky.edu/eday.

Gov. Steve Beshear has signed a proclamation designating February as “Earthquake Awareness Month” in Kentucky.

The “Earthquake Awareness and Great ShakeOut” instructional unit is a tool providing teachers with an opportunity to educate students and families on how to prepare, protect and recover from earthquakes. This instructional unit is free and available for download here.

In conjunction with the school unit, Kentucky Division of Emergency Management (KYEM) will host a statewide earthquake awareness poster contest open to students in grades 3-5. One statewide winner from each grade level will receive an eReader, along with a certificate of achievement. Winners also will have their posters promoted across the state.

KYEM also will award one teacher, selected at random from all poster entries, with an eReader to use in his or her classroom.  All posters must be submitted to KYEMEQ@gmail.com by March 30 to be eligible. For more information, contact David M. Davis at (502) 607-5712.

StageLab is offering a professional development session for teachers this Monday, Jan. 16 that will focus on the elements of drama and how they connect to the new English/language arts standards. 

The session, which is open drama teachers of all experience levels, will be in Louisville from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The cost is $100. Six hours of professional development credit are available.

The session will be centered on the literary elements and ways in which these can be studied in context with the Kentucky Core Academic Standards. Performance elements also will be addressed in terms of the speaking and reading criteria.  Additionally,  the session will address technical elements and connections to social studies and the Common Core State Standards. 

For more information, call (502) 741-8392 or email stagelab@insightbb.com

The Kentucky School Counselor Association (KSCA) is accepting nominations for outstanding Elementary, Middle and High School Counselor of the Year.

KSCA also is taking nominations for Principal of the Year.

To complete an online nomination form, go to www.kyschoolcounselor.org.

Many districts are planning and recruiting volunteer advisors for Operation Preparation, College-/Career-Advising Week, scheduled for March 12-16, 2012.

This activity is designed to support districts in meeting the Commonwealth Commitment to increase the number of students who graduate college-and career-ready by 50 percent by 2015.

In order to direct any inquiries that we may receive to the appropriate person in each district, the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) needs an Operation Preparation point of contact for each participating district. KDE also would like to gather some basic information that will assist it in monitoring how implementation is proceeding across the state and to help respond to any barriers to implementation that may exist.

Please provide this information by completing a brief online questionnaire by Friday, Jan. 13, 2012.

The Dirksen Congressional Center invites applications for grants to fund research on congressional leadership and the U.S. Congress. The center, named for the late Senate Minority Leader Everett M. Dirksen, is a private, nonpartisan, nonprofit research and educational organization devoted to the study of Congress and its leaders.

Applications are due by March 1 for the annual selections, which are announced in April. A total of up to $35,000 will be available in 2012.

The competition is open to individuals with a serious interest in studying Congress. Political scientists, historians, biographers, scholars of public administration or American studies, and journalists are among those eligible.

The center encourages graduate students who have successfully defended their dissertation prospectus to apply and awards a significant portion of the funds for dissertation research. Applicants must be U.S. citizens who reside in the United States. 

Applications can be sent in as Word or PDF attachments to Frank Mackaman. Insert “CRA Application [your surname].” in the subject line.

Complete information about what kind of research projects are eligible for consideration, what a Congressional Research Award pays for, application procedures and how recipients are selected may be found at the center’s website.