Kentucky Teacher

Nominations are now open for the 2014 Kentucky Teacher Awards, sponsored by the Kentucky Department of Education and Ashland Inc.

Nominations may be submitted electronically by visiting the 2014 Kentucky Teacher of the Year website, kentuckytoy.com. The deadline for nominations is May 15.

Any full-time public school teacher in the state with at least three years of experience is eligible. Additional qualifications are cited on the application. Students, parents, teaching peers, principals, superintendents or anyone from the community who has an interest in honoring an outstanding educator may nominate a teacher for this award.

All nominated teachers are required to complete a formal application, which must be submitted by June 30. A blue ribbon panel of education professionals from around the state will judge the applications in August; up to 24 Ashland Inc. Teacher Achievement Award winners will be announced in September. Following site visits with nine semifinalists in September and personal interviews with the top three candidates, the Kentucky Teacher of the Year will be announced in Frankfort. At that time, all 24 teachers will be honored with cash Continue Reading

The Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board (EPSB) has approved Georgetown College’s Environmental Education Endorsement Program for teachers and others working in environmentally-related jobs. The P-12 endorsement program helps bridge the gap between academics and practical application.

This 12 credit-hour course of study may be taken for professional development or be applied toward a Teacher Leader Master of Arts or Rank 1 in School Improvement Master of Arts degree. Individual courses also may be taken as electives without doing the entire 12-hour program.

The interdisciplinary project-based courses are designed to cultivate environmental literacy across the curriculum in both formal and informal settings. Georgetown College’s online and blended programs offer convenient and flexible options.

Enrollment is underway. For more information, contact Emily DeMoor at (502) 863-8171. Information also is available at www.georgetowncollege.edu/education.

The Kentucky Academy of Technology Education (KATE) has set up a Lync account called KATEHelp@coemail.murraystate.edu.

This account will be monitored by student workers in the College of Education at Murray State University who will take instructional technology help requests and forward them on to someone at KATE.

A staff member can work on the request and get back to the person making the request via Lync or e-mail to share the results.

By adding the address in Lync’s “Frequent Contacts,” it will be readily available whenever teachers have an instructional technology need.

West Marion Elementary (Marion County) teacher Stacy Bartley is the winner of the February iPad giveaway by the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority (KHEAA).

The contest was open to Kentucky residents who “liked” the KHEAA Facebook page, online at www.facebook.com/KHEAA, and answered a question about college.

Bartley was presented with the iPad at the Washington County Public Library in Springfield on March 6. She is a 2nd-grade teacher at West Marion Elementary.

“I was very surprised to have won out of 5,000 entries” Bartley said. “I plan to use the different apps for small-group settings in the classroom, so it will really help with my teaching.”

KHEAA plans to hold more iPad giveaways during the upcoming fiscal year.

A state agency, KHEAA also administers Kentucky’s student financial aid programs, including the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship.

Learn how environmental education helps Kentucky students master science and other academic content through engaging hands-on learning experiences that demonstrate how their choices and actions affect the world around them.

The program, hosted by Bill Goodman, airs Monday, March 18 at 9 p.m. ET on KET. Following the broadcast, the program can be viewed online at ket.org/educationmatters.

This Education Matters includes a visit to Blackacre Nature Reserve in Louisville to see a group of inner-city students participating in field study activities and to West Carter Middle School in Olive Hill, where students have built a zero-energy greenhouse for growing lettuce and other vegetables.

Scheduled panelists include:

• Elizabeth Schmitz, executive director of the Kentucky Environmental Education Council
• Sean Elkins, science consultant at the Kentucky Department of Education
• Tresine Logsdon, energy and sustainability curriculum coordinator for Fayette County Public Schools
• Dr. Melinda Wilder, professor of curriculum and instruction and director of the Division of Natural Areas at Eastern Kentucky University

The Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) will host a “Food for Thought” luncheon program, “Pine Mountain Settlement School,” with Nancy Adams, executive director, and James Greene, Harlan Independent school district curriculum supervisor, March 20, at the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History in Frankfort.

Located in the mountains of Appalachia in southeastern Kentucky, Pine Mountain Settlement School was an early source of education for the mountain youth of the area, offering a hands-on approach to education that continues to be a model for today’s schools. Join Adams and Greene as they discuss the important role this school has played in the community.

Tickets to the Food for Thought luncheon are $20 for KHS members and $25 for other patrons. To make a reservation, contact Julia Curry at (502) 564-1792, ext. 4414. Reservations are required by Friday, March 15.

To find out more about Food for Thought and other KHS programs, visit www.history.ky.gov.

The 2012 Guidance Document for Individual Education Program (IEP) development provides clear instructions and examples for Admission and Release Committee (ARC) members, including chairpersons, teachers, related service providers and parents, on writing standards-based IEPs in Kentucky.

Teachers across the state have been trained to use the document to assist them in writing detailed present levels of educational performance and annual goals that meet student needs.

The 2012 Guidance Document for Individual Education Program (IEP) development is to be used in conjunction with local policy and procedure; federal and state law and regulation, including IDEA; the Kentucky Administrative Regulations (KAR); and the Special Education Compliance Record Review Document.

Beginning with the 2012-13 school year, the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) expects full implementation of this guidance in IEP development. To download a copy of the IEP Guidance Document and to view the IEP Guidance Document Webinar, go to http://education.ky.gov/specialed/excep/Pages/IEP-Guidance-and-documents.aspx.

The Kentucky Department of Education has posted an RFA for the Kentucky Association of Career and Technical Education (KACTE) Summer Conference Career Pathway.

This grant will provide funds to local school districts and area technology centers for registration for teams to attend the KACTE Summer Conference.  Teams must attend the post sessions for career pathways.  Grantees will be eligible for up to $1,200.00.

The grants will be funded with Leadership Funds from the Carl D. Perkins Act.  The Act was established to provide an increased focus on the academic achievement of career and technical education students, strengthen the connections between secondary and postsecondary education, and improve state and local accountability.

The RFA can be found on the KDE Competitive Grants website.

The Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs (GSE) is looking for four or five individuals to serve as Team Leaders for its first summer program in June at Georgetown College. The GSE program is designed to teach high school students how to turn an idea for a product or service into a business opportunity.

Team Leaders will work together collaboratively and each will be responsible for supervising one to three teams of three to seven students. They will be paid on an hourly basis and will be provided a room and all meals at no cost. Team Leaders report for training on June 3 and work Monday through Saturday through the June 29 program closing.

Those interested should go here for more information, a list of duties and an application. The deadline to apply is March 25.

The Kentucky Arts Council’s Teaching Art Together grant allows teachers to work with professional artists listed in the arts council’s Teaching Artists Directory to design and implement innovative five- to 20-day residencies.

Artists selected for the Teaching Artists Directory work in a wide variety of disciplines, including dance, folk arts, literary arts, media/video, music, storytelling, theater and visual arts.

Any teacher or group of teachers in a public or private school that supports any grades, preschool to 12, may apply. The grant application deadline is April 1. The Teaching Art Together grant guidelines and application can be found at the arts council website. For more information about applying, contact Chris Cathers, program branch manager, christopher.cathers@ky.gov or (888) 833-2787, ext. 488.