Kentucky Teacher

Kentucky students were rewarded for their talents and research in history at the 51st Kentucky Junior Historical Society (KJHS) Conference and Kentucky History Day held at the University of Louisville.

Student activities included the impromptu exhibit contest, history test, quick-recall History Bowl and the Kentucky History Day contest. More than 600 students, parents and educators attended the events.

Kentucky History Day is affiliated with National History Day, a yearlong academic program focused on promoting historical research by students in grades 6-12. Kentucky History Day competitors work throughout the school year researching a personally chosen topic and present a final project as a dramatic performance, imaginative exhibit, multimedia documentary, website or research paper. Kentucky History Day winners have the opportunity to compete at the national level at the University of Maryland in June.

Click here to view the winners.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is offering free training for up to 500 high school science teachers in July 2013. The training will be conducted fully online over the first three weeks of July. Teacher may work at their own time and pace, supplemented by optional live events to earn a NOAA teacher badge.

When finished, teachers then can bring students into the platform to earn more than 15 NOAA Career Pathway badges, all aligned to NGSS standards. Up to two professional development credits will be made available through Boise State University for an extra fee of $60 per credit, includes transcript.

Click here to sign up.

The 2013 Academically Proficient High School Junior and Senior Diversity Conference, sponsored by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, will be June 28-29 at Eastern Kentucky University.

The conference programs will:

• inform and expose juniors and seniors of the various educational opportunities available at colleges throughout the state
• provide information to assist juniors and seniors to make the adjustments necessary for a successful college experience
• provide information to assist students to become effective leaders in school and in their communities after graduation
• provide information regarding scholarships, grants, internships and financial aid programs available through the KHEAA and institutions
• provide a forum for Kentucky colleges and universities to present information to many of the brightest college-bound students, in a single location, for purposes of acquainting the students with the academic programs and scholarship opportunities available on Continue Reading

Recent Federal legislation, Public Law 110-234, The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, authorized funds for expansion of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) to all 50 States, the District of Columbia and Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Elementary schools that represent a State’s highest free and reduced price enrollment are eligible to participate in the Program and are given priority for being selected due to their high need level.   The purpose of the program is to increase fresh fruit and vegetable consumption in elementary schools.

Kentucky has been allocated $2,780,123 for use during the period beginning July 1, 2013 and ending June 30, 2014.  The level of funds provided to any one school must be calculated by funding each student at $50 to $75 per year.

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE), Office of Administration & Support is issuing a Request for Application (RFA) from elementary schools, schools containing grades PreK-6, or any combination thereof, to participate in the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program during the upcoming 2013-2014 school year.  The RFA is posted on the KDE Competitive Grants web page.

The application deadline is Tuesday, May 28, 2013 at 4:00 pm (EDT).

The Kentucky Department of Education invites teachers, administrators, district staff, parents, students and other education stakeholders to submit questions for Commissioner Terry Holliday’s Twitter Town Hall Wednesday, May 15, 4-5 p.m. ET. Questions can be tweeted both before May 15 and during the live event. Use the hash tag #AskDocH to send questions.

If you don’t have a Twitter account and would like to sign up for one, visit www.twitter.com. It’s a free service and also offers apps for smartphones if you’d rather follow along off of a traditional computer desktop or laptop.

Commissioner Holliday looks forward to answering your questions May 15.

The season finale of KET’s Education Matters will focus on early childhood learning and kindergarten readiness.

Host Bill Goodman and guests explore the Brigance Kindergarten Screen and take a look at how preschools, parents, and informal learning experiences can help young children arrive at kindergarten ready to succeed and thrive. “Kindergarten Readiness,” will air Monday evening, May 6 and then will stream on the KET website — http://www.ket.org/educationmatters— or on iTunes U!

The Kentucky Department of Education is excited to offer professional learning opportunities for Kentucky K-8 mathematics teachers.

Join math teachers from across the state in an interactive learning experience focusing on Number Sense and Algebraic Thinking in grades K-2, Conceptual Understanding of Fractions in Grades 3-6 and Understanding Ratios and Proportional Relationships in grades 6-8. During this six-hour online learning experience, teachers will be engaged with research-based strategies and rich mathematical tasks. Dates, times and registration information for each session are available through the links above.

If you have further questions related to these professional learning opportunities, please e-mail Krista Hall at Krista.hall2@education.ky.gov.

The Kentucky Girls STEM Collaborative is offering its Aquabots Summer Camp. This is an underwater robotics camp for girls entering grades 7-11 in the upcoming school year.

For more information or registration instructions, go to the Collaborative website.

The Regional Prevention Centers and the Kentucky Department of Behavioral Health are sponsoring a series of two-day trainings this summer to equip schools to provide the mandated two hours of suicide prevention trainings for their staffs.

The trainings are free, are appropriate for guidance counselors or teachers who will coordinate suicide prevention efforts in their schools, FRYSC staff, prevention specialists and health educators, and will provide EILA hours. After attending, participants will be equipped to provide the two-hour mandated staff training required each school year for all administrators, guidance counselors and teachers as well as provide assistance on the coordination of delivery of mandated suicide prevention information to all middle and high school students in the state by the Sept. 1 deadline. These trainings will replace, except in rare situations, the delivery of the school trainings by state Division of Behavioral Health staff.

There are currently 10 trainings scheduled across the state. Additional trainings are being added in the Maysville, London, Hazard, and Bowling Green regions. Staff can attend their regional trainings or may opt for a training in a different region if the date is more Continue Reading

The Learning Disabilities Association of Kentucky is hosting its annual seminar in Shepherdsville on June 21 at Paroquet Springs Conference Center.

This year’s speaker is Gayle Gregory, a former teacher who now consults internationally with teachers, administrators and staff developers in the areas of brain-compatible learning, block scheduling, emotional intelligence, instructional and assessment practices, collaborative learning, presentation skills, renewal of secondary schools, enhancing teacher quality, coaching and mentoring and managing change.

The regular cost of admission is $85 per person. Groups receive a discount. The registration form is available here. To sign up online using a credit card follow this link.