Kentucky Teacher

Bob Fortney, a senior consultant in the Kentucky Department of Education’s (KDE’s) Office of District 180, is the recipient of the 2012 Kentucky Society for Technology in Education (KySTE) Outstanding Leader award, which will be presented at the KySTE spring conference March 9 in Louisville.

Each year, KySTE presents awards for outstanding leader, teacher and technology staff member, based on their work and achievement in the education technology area. State-level winners’ names are submitted to the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) for consideration of national-level recognition.

Fortney, a resident of Lexington, was nominated by Tara Rodriguez, a teacher liaison for the Kentucky Virtual High School in the KDE Division of Student Success. In her nomination, Rodriguez noted Fortney has a belief that online or blended learning can improve the educational experience for students from all backgrounds, abilities and talents.

“He also envisions the possibilities that individualized digital learning can offer to disengaged students or those who attend failing schools,” said Rodriguez. “Bob’s enthusiasm for digital learning is evident in his work, his professional associations and in his communication with colleagues and parents.”

Fortney has worked closely with the Kentucky Virtual High School, the federal Ready to Teach program, the Continuous Instructional Improvement Technology System (CIITS) project and other digital learning projects. Continue Reading

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) is transitioning from serving as a provider of online courses offered through the Kentucky Virtual High School (KVHS) to a broker of full-time and part-time learning options available through multiple statewide providers.

This shift is based on recommendations from the 2009 Breaking New Ground and Digital Learning 2020 reports. In Breaking New Ground, the Governor’s Transforming Education in Kentucky Task Force called for policies to enhance and expand virtual and blended learning opportunities, including funding options to ensure equitable access to students across the commonwealth. The Digital Learning 2020 report recommended the use of multiple statewide online learning providers to expand full- and part-time options. Kentucky’s new model for digital learning addresses all of these recommendations, and also expand opportunities for e-learning for Kentucky students.

After this 2012 spring semester, KVHS will no longer offer online courses. Instead, KDE will provide a comprehensive list of digital learning providers. In addition, support and guidance will be provided to help schools/districts make the best choices regarding the use of digital content and online courses.

KDE remains committed to improving education and continuing the rigor and excellence established by the Kentucky Virtual High School.

If you have questions on this upcoming change, please contact Bob Fortney at (502) 564-4772 or via e-mail at bob.fortney@education.ky.gov .

Intensive Summer Language Institutes (ISLI) provide fellowships for U.S. classroom teachers to spend six weeks overseas studying intermediate and advanced-level Arabic in Alexandria, Egypt, and Chinese in Changchun, China.

Current K-12 teachers, community college instructors of Arabic and Mandarin Chinese and students enrolled in education programs who intend to teach these languages can apply. Participants earn 10 hours of graduate credit through Bryn Mawr College, and are provided with peer tutors and roundtrip airfare.

All travel and study-related costs are fully covered. The deadline to apply is March 2. For more information, go here or e-mail isli@americancouncils.org.

The Secretary of State’s office has narrowed the field of slogan entries to 20 finalists in the Office of the Secretary of State Voter Slogan and Essay Contest.

The general public can now vote for a favorite.

Slogans are judged on how well they attract attention and express the importance of participating in elections. Go to http://www.sos.ky.gov/sloganpoll to vote. The poll will remain open through 2 p.m. on Feb. 28.

Kentucky 6th-8th graders were eligible to enter the slogan contest, and the essay contest was open to student in grades 9-12. Prizes of up to a $1,000 U.S. savings bond in the slogan contest and four $3,000 U.S. savings bonds in the essay contest will be awarded. The monetary awards are made possible by contest sponsors Houchens Industries, KEA Retired, Turner Construction, the University of Kentucky Scripps Howard First Amendment Center and U.S. Bank.

For more information about the contest, or to find out how your school, organization or family can get involved in any civic activities taking place across Kentucky, go to http://www.civics.ky.gov/.

The U.S. Department of Education has asked Westat to conduct national focus groups to inform the planning of two national meetings on College and Career Ready Standards and Educator Evaluation Systems that will be held in March 2012.

Three states – Florida, Idaho and Kentucky — have been selected to conduct the focus groups. The findings from the qualitative data collected from the focus groups will be used to better inform the planning of the national meetings in March.

Westat will conduct interviews with three panel groups representing district administration, school-building administrators and teachers from the Bullitt, Jessamine and Magoffin County school districts. Group discussions with Westat have been scheduled for Friday, February 17 at KDE. Representatives from the Division of Next-Generation Professionals and Division of Program Standards will represent Kentucky at the national panel discussion in Washington, D.C.

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) is pleased to announce that the review process for 2012 Mathematics and Science Partnerships RFA is complete.

The list of awards is available at the following link: www.education.ky.gov/KDE/Administrative+Resources/Grant+Information/Competitive+Grant+Awards/.

All awards are contingent upon final review and commitment toward non-negotiables.

For questions related to the application or review process, contact Tom Stratton at (502) 564-2351. All programmatic questions should be addressed to Sean Elkins at (502) 564-2106.

The Art Museum at the University of Kentucky is calling for eco-art bead entries for its It’s Easy Beading Green exhibit.

Eco-Art Beads are handcrafted or hand-altered beads made from recycled, reused, repurposed, leftover, excess, found objects or about-to-be-discarded materials including but not limited to: paper, wood, rubber, fabric, yarn, plastic, metal, clay, shells or glass.

Eco-Art Beads will be strung on monofilament (fishing line). Entered bead(s) should be lightweight, no larger than five inches in any direction, and have a hole in it.

Entries can use magazines, twigs, old clothes, Styrofoam, cardboard, hardware, aluminum cans, bottle caps, or transformed beads or jewelry parts. Non-traditional shapes and textures are encouraged. Beads with sharp edges or made with food products will not be accepted.

Participants may enter as a group or an individual and may submit multiple entries.

Eco-Art Bead entries will be displayed as part of the It’s Easy Beading Green exhibition at the Art Museum at UK, April 1 through Sept. 30, 2012. (Beads will not be returned.)

Submit Eco-Art Beads with entry form by Feb. 28 to: It’s Easy Beading Green, The Art Museum at UK, Rose Street & Euclid Avenue, Lexington, KY 40506-0241. For more information contact Sonja Brooks or call (859) 257-1926.

Safe at School and Ready to Learn: a Comprehensive Policy Guide for Protecting Students with Life-Threatening Food Allergies, a practical guide from the National School Boards Association (NSBA), is designed to help school leaders and schools establish comprehensive policies and practices that support the safety, well-being and academic success of students with life-threatening food allergies.

In addition to providing relevant data related to food allergies in schools, the publication focuses on the need for schools to partner with families and health care providers in identifying and preparing management plans for students with food allergies.

Further, it provides information on following medication protocols; developing a coordinated system to prevent and respond to food allergy-related emergencies across the school environment; communicating with and educating parents, students and school personnel; and monitoring and evaluating policies and practices.

To access the guide, go to www.nsba.org/foodallergyguide.

The National Academy Foundation’s (NAF) education model to build school-based “learning communities” that empower high school students to successfully go on to higher eductaion, professions oftehir choosing and active community participation is aligned to Kentucky’s Unified Strategy for College and Career Readiness.

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) believes “career academies” will help to ensure the preparation of students for postsecondary education while providing them with skills and experience necessary to attain entry-level jobs.

Students in career academies take a blend of career and academic classes linked to academic and industry standards promoting high achievement. These academies focus on one of five career themes: finance; hospitality and tourism; information technology; health science; and engineering. Beyond the 2012-13 Year-Of-Planning, KDE and NAF will explore other career academy themes pertaining to specific area and industry needs.

NAF career academies exist as schools-within-schools, stand-alone schools or small learning communities and provide opportunities to all students. NAF is a collaborative partnership with Project Lead the Way (PLTW), the STEM Academy (STEM 101) and ConnectED. If a district now uses the PLTW curriculum, or has a small learning community grant, NAF could provide additional support and resources to enhance these experiences for students. Continue Reading

Agriculture Commissioner James R. Comer invites all Kentuckians to join him in celebrating National Future Farmers of America (FFA) Week, Feb. 18-25. 

Commissioner Comer said Kentucky farmers can help Kentucky FFA by making a voluntary contribution to the Kentucky Agricultural Program Trust Fund when they buy or renew the Kentucky farm license plate. Proceeds from the trust fund will be divided evenly between Kentucky FFA, Kentucky 4-H and Kentucky Proud.

More than 540,000 people ages 12-21 are members of FFA, including about 15,000 in Kentucky. FFA has 7,489 chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

National FFA Week is sponsored by Tractor Supply Co. and Carhartt as a special project of the National FFA Foundation.

For more information about National FFA Week activities, go to the National FFA website, and the National FFA blog. To find out more about National FFA, go to www.ffa.org. For the latest news from Kentucky FFA, go to http://kyffa.org.