Kentucky Teacher

Commissioner Terry Holliday

With more jobs requiring at least some postsecondary education or training, college and career readiness is driving major changes that are taking root in Kentucky public schools.

The implementation of more rigorous academic standards that are aligned with the concepts and 21^st century skills students need to know to succeed in college and the workplace plays an important role in that shift. But just making classes harder, so to speak, isn’t the only step we need to take to truly transform education in Kentucky.

Research shows that if schools create safe, supportive, and respectful learning environments that personalize young people’s learning experiences, they can help them achieve more academic success and better prepare them for life after high school. A comprehensive advising program that includes both academic and non-academic programs and for which responsibility is shared through a school is key to making this happen.

A strong advising program can result in reduced retention rates, decreased truancy and behavioral issues, increased test scores and graduation rates, as well as improved interpersonal relationships and greater college/career readiness.

Kentucky’s Advising Toolkit and Transition Toolkit can help districts create comprehensive advising programs. Continue Reading

By Matthew Tungate
matthew.tungate@education.ky.gov

Principal Roger Wright talks with Erica Edwards about her upcoming graduation during their weekly meeting at the McDaniel Learning Center (Laurel County). Wright meets with each student at the center on a weekly basis. Photo by Amy Wallot, Sept. 7, 2012

Four first-time alternative education Best Practice Sites have very different missions and students, but they share one important thing in common: the belief that all students will learn at a high level.

They also offer students something less tangible but no less important: hope for a brighter future.

Six of the 10 schools named Best Practice Sites have achieved the honor before. But four – Maryhurst School (Jefferson County), McDaniel Learning Center (Laurel County), Monroe County Falcon Academy and Morehead Youth Development Center (Rowan County) – were named for the first time this year.

Maryhurst is a public school housed at a residential treatment center for girls aged 12-18 who have been severely abused and traumatized, according to Associate Principal Jill Tabor. While treatment is the top priority at Maryhurst, the school follows district and state curriculum guidelines to ensure students are academically equipped for college and prepared to function in society, she said.

Even though most of the girls are exempt from taking state accountability tests, the school has initiated numerous programs to help remediate students who have fallen behind and provide enrichment to those who are gifted. Continue Reading

By Susan Riddell
susan.riddell@education.ky.gov

Brian Dugan talks fuel injectors with Bullitt County CRC junior Corey Ivy in the automotive lab at the Bullitt County Area Technology Center. Ivy would like to open an automotive shop one day. Photo by Amy Wallot, Sept. 5, 2012

Rick Dawson, a counselor at the Bullitt County school district’s Career Readiness Center (CRC), has worked over the years with many students who struggled in a traditional classroom setting.

Some struggled to focus in a lecture-type setting that didn’t offer more hands-on learning, he said. Others struggled with formative and summative assessments.

“That environment just isn’t an easy place for some to thrive,” said Dawson.

That’s where Bullitt County’s Career Readiness Center can make the difference. The center, in its second year, provides students with a different approach to learning and gives the district a means to better prepare students for careers.

“These kids want to learn, and we’re a good fit where that pressure isn’t there,” Dawson said. “We want them to come back every day and to enjoy being here.”

In February 2011, the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) secured the Commonwealth Commitment from all districts to move 50 percent of their district’s high school graduates who are not college- and/or career-ready to college- and/or career-ready between 2010 and 2015. KDE’s Unbridled Learning initiative outlines the plans, strategies and milestones set forth to make this vision a reality. Continue Reading