Kentucky Teacher

The Coalition for Community Schools has identified six keys to community engagement that should serve as a guide for school leaders when engaging school families.

They are:

• Know where you’re going. Create a vision of what your school should look like and develop a plan for how to get there. Begin by seeking input from school staff, families, partners and community residents. Any vision must incorporate the diverse interests of all members of the school and community. Make sure that the vision’s goals and objectives are broadly owned.
• Share leadership. Invite those partners from the community who share your school’s vision to also share resources, expertise and accountability for targeted objectives. Work deliberately with staff, families and the community to reach established goals. Continue Reading

Last year, the first competition was held for the National History Bee, sponsored by the History Channel and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The competition is a three-stage event consisting of a writing performance, buzzer competition and national championship.

According to Eric Huff, director of operations for National History Bee, Kentucky had the lowest number of participants nationally in the competition last year. Huff has contacted the Kentucky Department of Education to provide information about the competition and encourage more student involvement from Kentucky.

Registration for the National History Bee will be open until Nov. 23.

The first stage of competition will be held from Dec. 3 to Jan. 11, 2013. The second stage of competition will be from Jan. 28 to April 9, 2013, followed by a third-stage national championship in May 2013.

Last year’s winner was Tajin Rogers, an 8th-grade student fromVirginia. Rogers was awarded a $50,000 college scholarship for winning the National History Bee as well as receiving national publicity with the competition being aired on national television.

For more information on the National History Bee or to register, go to http://historybee.com/.

The next superintendents’ webcast is scheduled for Aug. 27 from 11 a.m. to noon ET.

The topics will include Program Reviews, assessment, ASSIST and the Gallup Student Poll, which is a survey designed to capture youth voice in the national dialogue surrounding student performance and success.

Those wanting other topics addressed should send them to Mary Ann Miller. As is customary, the link to the webcast and any associated materials will be sent to superintendents closer to the actual broadcast.

Teachers can now register students for the fall Stock Market Game programs/competitions.

A few changes have been made to the programs this school year. They include  Take Stock in Kentucky only being open to elementary and middle school students. The 10-week Stock Market Game and Year Long programs, however, are open to all grade levels.

The Year-Long SMG fee is now $20.  Take Stock in Kentucky and the 10-Week Stock Market Game are $10/team.

The Year Long Stock Market Games runs from Sept. 24, 2012 to April 19, 2013. The 10-week Stock Market Game will take place from Sept. 24 to Nov. 20, 2012, and the Take Stock in Kentucky program will run from Oct. 1 to Dec. 7.

KET is asking for short, student-produced videos about the presidential election: the candidates, the presidents, the process, the history, the Electoral College, registering to vote, campaigning and the national conventions.

The KET School Video Project: Election 2012 is open for all grade levels.

Schools submitting student-produced videos by Oct. 31will be entered in a random drawing for video production equipment to be held on Nov. 1.

An additional component to the KET School Video Project: Election 2012 is targeted to high school students, addressing student concerns and opinions related to the upcoming presidential election. KET will use some of these student-produced videos in Student Voices, Election 2012, the October edition of the Education Matters television program, which will air at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, Oct. 11, before live coverage of the vice-presidential debate at Centre College. Videos must be submitted by Oct. 1 via the KET School Video Project upload page to be considered for Student Voices, Election 2012. Continue Reading

The Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) scholarly research fellowship program encourages and promotes research on all aspects of Kentucky history.

Fellowships are designed to assist researchers with travel and living expenses while using the KHS research collections. All applications are peer-reviewed by a panel of leading historians. Awards are based on the significance of the proposed research and on the anticipated time it will require in KHS collections. Awards typically range from $375 (for one week) to $1,500 (for four weeks). These short-term fellowships are intended to support serious scholarly work. They enable individuals to pursue advanced study and research in the collections of KHS.

Fellowship recipients are strongly encouraged to submit an article-length manuscript for possible publication in the Register of the Kentucky Historical Society and are expected to make an informal presentation on their research during their stay and to Continue Reading

The Kentucky Board of Education is proud to announce the ninth annual Dr. Samuel Robinson Award. 

This award will be given to a Kentuckian or a Kentucky organization  that has exhibited leadership, commitment and service to equity and opportunity in education for all Kentucky children.

Dr. Samuel Robinson served on the Kentucky Board of Education from 1991 until 2004.

The Board invites nomination(s), which should be submitted on a special nomination form that can be obtained here.

Because nominations may come from both organizations and individuals, additional copies of the form may be made and distributed throughout your membership/board.  Notice that in addition to completing the nomination form, a brief narrative of 500 words or less describing how the person or organization has exhibited leadership, commitment and service to equity and opportunity in education for all Kentucky children at the school, community and/or state levels must be submitted to me no later than September 18, 2012. 

If there are questions about the nomination process, contact Mary Ann Miller at (502) 564-3141 or via email at MaryAnn.Miller@education.ky.gov.

Overall results from the 2012 administration of the ACT to Kentucky’s public school juniors and public school graduates show improvements in all subject areas.

The overall composite scores for both juniors and graduating seniors increased slightly from 2011 to 2012.

“These data are part of Kentucky schools’ and districts’ College/Career Ready Rates, and the increases show that our administrators and teachers are focused on the ultimate goal of preparing students for life after high school,” said Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday. “While the increases in scores are small, they indicate an intensified emphasis on college/career readiness.”

Kentucky’s Unbridled Learning accountability model includes a college/career readiness component, through which schools and districts will be held accountable for the percentage of students who are considered ready for college and/or careers. Continue Reading