Kentucky Teacher

Macy’s is making the script and score for Yes, Virginia: The Musical free to all schools and will offer a grant program, awarding each of 100 participating schools a $1,000 grant to support productions of the musical. The grants will be awarded to the first 100 qualified schools that complete the application process through Sept. 13.

Visit http://www.yesvirginiamusical.comto submit a grant application and access a script, songs and videos featuring tips from Broadway insiders.

Debuting as an animated special in 2009, Yes, Virginia was inspired by the true story of 8-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon, who in 1897 wrote a letter to the New York Sun newspaper asking if there is a Santa Claus. The Sun’s editor, Francis P. Church responded with a poignantly worded essay on the importance of believing, including the famous lines “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist …”

His response became one of the most famous newspaper editorials of all time and served as the inspiration for Macy’s “Believe” campaign, which supports Make-A-Wish and will celebrate its fifth anniversary this December.

First Lady Jane Beshear and Agriculture Commissioner James Comer recently launched Ready, Set, Grow: A Kid’s Guide to Gardening – a joint initiative by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture and the Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy.

This project includes an interactive guide and website to promote growing and/or buying local food.

Ready, Set, Grow is a part of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s education initiatives. The project shows that anyone can grow a garden, even if on a small patio. It features examples on how to grow gardens and ways to cultivate seed varieties in to mature plants.

Additionally, it provides students with a planting and harvesting guide as well as an activity section to maintain interactive learning.

To learn more about the Ready, Set, Grow initiative or to download the guide, click here or contact Kristen Branscum with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture at (502) 564-4983. Continue Reading

An Aug. 8 Open Meetings decision by Attorney General Jack Conway may change how some Kentucky school boards discuss keeping a current superintendent on the job with a new contract.

Ruling on a complaint by the editor of a newspaper in Martin County, Conway’s office found that the Kentucky Open Meetings Act does not allow closed session discussions between a school board and a current superintendent regarding the superintendent’s potential appointment and contract for a future term.

In an e-mail to superintendents and members of the Council of School Board Attorneys, Kentucky School Boards Association (KSBA) staff attorney John Fogle said, “This is consistent with earlier decisions stating that the (personnel exception of the law) does not cover discussions relating to the retention of an existing employee. However, this is the first decision applying this rule to superintendents.” Continue Reading

The first Southeast Environmental Education Conference will be held in conjunction with the Kentucky Association for Environmental Education’s 36th Annual Conference.

This event is Sept. 14-15 at Lake Cumberland State Resort Park and will include educational workshops, plenary sessions, entertainment and networking.

Following a full day of concurrent sessions, onsite and offsite workshops and networking time on Friday, the event will host an outdoor dinner followed by live music from artist Jim Scott.

On Saturday, there will be an awards luncheon, announcing the Outstanding Environmental Education awards. Tim Farmer, native Kentuckian and longtime host of Kentucky Afield, will be the keynote speaker.

Children will be able to participate in hands-on presentations geared just for them.

Early Bird Conference Registration is open until Sept.1. Visit http://kaee.org/conference/ for more information.

In honor and memory of Neil Armstrong, Cincinnati Museum Center’s Museum of Natural History and Science will be open free of admission charge through Sept. 3.

Armstrong selected CMC’s Museum of Natural History and Science to receive a moon rock from his Apollo 11 mission through a NASA Ambassadors for Science Program in 2006. His moon rock is on display with a replica of his Apollo 11 space suit and tools.

Armstrong was a long-time friend and advisor to the Museum of Natural History and Science and Cincinnati Museum Center. He served as a member and chairman of the board of trustees of the Museum of Natural History and Science at its Gilbert Avenue location. In 2004, Armstrong was a spokesperson for the Union Terminal operating levy campaign.

The Northern Kentucky University College of Education and Human Services will be hosting the 8th Symposium on Educator Dispositions: “Dispositions: The Elephant in the Room or the Key to Significant Learning?”

This conference is for school and higher education leaders, teachers, teachers educators, and subject matter specialists, and will address the issues of identifying, developing, and nurturing the dispositions to teach and lead as well as the impact of those dispositions upon P-20 student achievement.

Events will be held on November 15 and 16, 2012, in The METS Center, Erlanger, KY. To register and for additional information, please visit: http://coehs.nku.edu/content/coehs/educatordispositions.html/

Leslie County High School Principal Kevin Gay is one of more than 100 state, district and school leaders and educators from across the U.S. named Champions of Change by the White House.

Gay started in the fall of 2010 as principal at Leslie County High. A native of rural eastern Kentucky, he believes that poverty is not a permanent condition, and students at Leslie County High should be competitive with anyone else in the world.

Gay and the other Champions of Change are featured on the White House website, and you can see information about his selection as a school turnaround leader here.

Click here to nominate a Champion of Change.

Click here to read more about recent progress made at Leslie County High.

The Institute for Talent Development and Gifted Studies, in partnership with Toyota and SOAR, is hosting the Young Women Leadership, Education and Development (LEAD) Conference at Northern Kentucky University Oct. 16 from 8 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. ET

Female high school students are invited to this free leadership conference designed to inspire young women to believe in their qualities and strengths and to challenge them to believe in a higher level of personal growth and development.

The conference will feature keynote speakers Olympic gold medalist Dominique Dawes and Julie Marie Carrie, award-winning national speaker, author and positive role model. Registration is limited and will be open from Sept. 4-14. For more information, visit www.youngwomenlead.com/cincinnati.

Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday and Gov. Steve Beshear talk during a press conference at Locust Trace AgriScience Farm (Fayette County), where the governor signed an executive order that unites the state's two career and technical education (CTE) systems under the Kentucky Department of Education. Photo by Amy Wallot, Aug. 28, 2012

In a move to help produce the skilled workforce businesses require today and in the future, Governor Steve Beshear signed an executive order Tuesday that will overhaul the state’s career and technical education (CTE) system.

The order unites the state’s two CTE systems under the guidance of Kentucky’s Department of Education. The goal is to create a unified, more relevant and efficient system to educate and prepare students for the world of work in a real-life setting.

“It is our responsibility to prepare students for higher education as well as for the workplace,” said Gov. Beshear. “Today’s employers require a workforce that is skilled, adaptable and equipped to compete in the global marketplace. Our students need an education system that provides job-training and learning opportunities that will put them on a career pathway. Transforming and elevating CTE is essential to this process. We must create a career and technical education system that is a first choice, not a last chance.”

The executive order is part of a larger effort to prepare students for a wider range of career options through high-quality CTE programs. Educators, businesses and administrators across the state are working together to make these programs more Continue Reading

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

An initiative of KDE and the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) called the Kentucky Virtual Campus for K-12 (KYVC4K12) provides easy access to the state providers and their courses. KYVC4K12’s website — http://www.kyvc4k12.org– will provide expanded e-learning opportunities for Kentucky students.

Beginning this school year, KDE also will provide lists of digital learning resources that schools, classrooms and districts may use to offer multiple e-learning options to students through blended learning. Support and guidance also will be provided to help schools and districts make the best choices regarding the use of digital content and online courses. Continue Reading