Kentucky Teacher

Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority (KHEAA), like the Kentucky Department of Education, has redesigned its website.

The website is arranged for visitors to navigate by audience or by topic. The enhanced site provides students, parents and others information they need to successfully navigate career exploration, college preparation and financial aid processes. KHEAA staff spent a year designing, programming and decreasing the number of pages while making content more user-friendly and streamlined.

To learn how to plan and prepare for higher education, go to www.gotocollege.ky.gov. For more information about Kentucky scholarships and grants, visit www.kheaa.com.

In its fourth year, the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection (DEP) is soliciting nominations for the 2012-13 Eco-Art Contest.

The contest provides an opportunity for students to gain statewide recognition for their artwork as it relates to Kentucky’s environment. Used as a tool for environmental education, art supports DEP’s mission to protect Kentucky’s environment.

Multiple awards will be presented to eligible Kentucky high school students who create art using the contest themes or categories of conservation, pollution prevention and environmental protection. Students may submit artwork using the media types of drawing/painting/print, mixed media, sculpture and photographs, with one winner for each submitted art type within each category.

Artwork from previous years’ contest winners is displayed in the DEP Training Center in Frankfort, where it has been viewed by hundreds of visitors. Continue Reading

Lt. Gov. Jerry Abramson

Starr Roberts is just the kind of smart young woman you’d want as a friend, a neighbor, or a coworker.  She’s a senior at St. Catharine College, completing degrees in business and early childhood studies, and was elected student body president.  But she almost didn’t go to college at all.

As a student at Louisville’s Valley High School, she didn’t know how to apply for admission or get financial aid for college.  Plus, she had never heard of the small college near Springfield. 

But in 2009, her senior year, the City of Louisville partnered with the local business community and Jefferson County Public Schools to create a program called Close the Deal, designed to guide soon-to-be-graduates through the process of pursuing higher education.  Through Close the Deal, Starr found the support and resources she needed to begin an unexpected new journey to enroll in college. Continue Reading

By Amy Wallot
amy.wallot@education.ky.gov

While always on the minds and agendas of staffers at the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE), students are a rarity in the KDE offices. But recently members of the Next-Generation Student Council  visited KDE to share their thoughts about classroom engagement, teacher evaluations, finical aid and even school lunch with the Kentucky Department of Education.

Commissioner Terry Holliday created the council in the fall of 2011 as a way to hear student voices and to share the goals and initiatives of the Kentucky Department of Education. Students apply in the fall with an application sharing their opinions on the issues facing Kentucky schools and student. No minimum GPA is required. Members, grades 10-12, are chosen from each of the seven state board of education districts; there are also four at-large members. This year 208 students applied for four open positions.

During the only in-person meeting of the council this year, members had lunch with Commissioner Holliday, met with Rep. Ryan Quarles, R-Georgetown, and discussed innovation and the student voice survey with KDE staff. The council will meet virtually three more times this school year.

Returning members of the council are:
•    Iman Ali – 12th grade, Pikeville High, Pikeville Ind.
•    Morgan Casto – 11th grade, Russell High, Russell Ind.
•    Natalie Fahrbach – 12th grade, Louisville Male High, Jefferson Co.
•    Tiffany Parham – 11th grade, Murray High, Murray Ind.
•    Hunter Peay – 12th grade, Butler County High
•    Blair Walden – 12th grade, South Laurel High, Laurel Co.
•    Jake Walker – 12th grade, Henderson County High

New members of the council are:
•    Vincent Cao – 11th grade, Paul Laurence Dunbar High, Fayette Co.
•    David Hormell – 11th grade, Martha Layne Collins High, Shelby Co.
•    Sarah Howard – 12th grade, Glasgow High, Glasgow Ind.
•    Guyron Spalding – 11th grade, Bardstown High, Bardstown Ind.

Natalie Fahrback, Jake Walker, Vincent Cao and Hunter Peay brainstorm what schools of the future would be like during a presentation by Jocelyn Mills, program manager for the KDE Division of Innovation and Partner Engagement.
Photo by Amy Wallot, Oct. 24, 2012

Returning member Iman Ali, center, welcomes new members David Hormell and Guyron Spalding before the meeting started.
Photo by Amy Wallot, Oct. 24, 2012

Sarah Howard, Tiffany Parham and Morgan Casto brainstorm things school could do right now to improve learning.
Photo by Amy Wallot, Oct. 24, 2012

Commissioner Terry Holliday has lunch with members of the Next-Generation Student Council. During lunch they discussed ways to improve student engagement and visions for high schools of the future
Photo by Amy Wallot, Oct. 24, 2012

Vincent Cao and Natalie Fahrbach listen to Rep. Ryan Quarles, R-Georgetown, talk about education funding. Quarles sits on the house education committee.
Photo by Amy Wallot, Oct. 24, 2012

The Governor’s Office of Minority Empowerment is sponsoring its annual poster and essay contest to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. This year’s theme is “moving beyond the dream to brighten the future.”

This contest is open to all students in grades K-12 and offers prizes for the top three winners in the elementary, middle and high school categories.

Entries must be received in the Governor’s Office of Minority Empowerment no later than close of business on Nov. 16.

For more details, visit www.ome.ky.gov/focus+areas/culturalawareness/mlkjrcomm/.

The contest rules are linked in the upper right corner of the webpage.

As schools across the country move toward implementing the Common Core State Standards, a number of national organizations, including the Council of the Great City Schools and the National Parent Teacher Association, have been producing written materials and creating video and audio segments — in multiple languages — designed to explain the standards to parents in clear, jargon-free terms.

A webinar being held Nov. 7 from 2 to 3 p.m. ET will describe common challenges that districts face in discussing the common core with parents. It also will explain how school systems can address parents’ fears and misgivings about the standards.

Guests include:

• Denise Walston, director of mathematics, Council of the Great City Schools, Washington, D.C.
• Gina Kilday, K-6 mathematics coach, Exeter-West Greenwich Regional school district, R.I.

This webinar will be moderated by Sean Cavanagh, assistant editor for Education Week.

All Education Week webinars are archived and accessible “on demand” for up to six months after the original live-streaming date.

The Norton Center for the Arts in Danville has a new lineup of student matinees.

Programs this season include a cross-section of dance, music and theatre to reach students of all ages in order to provide meaningful arts experiences for young audiences. Educators are encouraged to carefully read the center’s student matinee brochure.

The Norton Center provides a list of Kentucky state and national standards that can be applied to each performance or program. Curriculum Connections provide educator-developed lesson plans which will help to extend the learning into a classroom before and after each event.

Schools statewide attending spring Norton Center matinees may apply for a Kentucky Arts Council TranspARTation grant for a travel subsidy to defray the cost of buses and gas when attending Norton Center student matinees. Public schools in Garrard, Mercer, Lincoln and Boyle counties as well as Burgin and Danville independent schools may apply for deeply discounted or free Norton Center student matinee tickets via the Norton Center A.C.T.S. program. To learn more, go to www.nortoncenter.com/norton-center-acts.

Terri Cox-Cruey is a firm believer that strong leaders lead by example, model best practices and remain open-minded to new learning opportunities.

“At staff meetings, I try to introduce new uses of technology and encourage everyone to work as a team,” said Cox-Cruey, Kentucky Teacher’s Leader of the Month. “I believe it takes a trusting team to accomplish our goals, and I try to work side-by-side with others when possible.”

Cox-Cruey is in her second year as superintendent for the Kenton County school district. Prior to that, she served as deputy and assistant superintendent in the district and was executive director and director of special education. She worked for 13 years in the Covington Independent school district as a teacher, director of special education and general director of alternative programs.

Teresa Wilkins, coordinator of public information for Kenton County Schools, said Cox-Cruey has helped moved the district into a national spotlight as an instructional practices model. Continue Reading