Kentucky Teacher

The Bluegrass Cellular Scholarship Program will award 18 one-time scholarships valued at $1,500 each to select graduating seniors who attend high school in its 40-county coverage area.

The application is available online here and at each Bluegrass Cellular Customer Care location.

Students are required to receive a guidance counselor signature for verification of academic information, and they also must send a copy of their transcript with the application. The deadline for submitting applications is April 30, 2013.

For more information, contact Jescanta James at (270) 765-6361 ext. 5016.

The latest update to the Continuous Instructional Improvement Technology System (CIITS) includes many new features, including Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) showing K-PREP results, improved search for instructional materials, maps illustrating progress on Race to the Top measures and the ability for students to take assessments on an iPad.

For more information on the latest enhancements, click here for CIITS News.

The deadline has been extended to Feb. 15 for mini-grants to increase girls’ interest in science, engineering and technology.

The Kentucky Girls STEM Collaborative, a statewide initiative to encourage girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), is currently offering mini-grants of up to $1,000. Teachers, community groups and other organizations committed to collaborating, informing and motivating girls are encouraged to apply. Grants are funded in collaboration with the Kentucky National Science Foundation (NSF) Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration Kentucky Space Grant Consortium (NASA KY). Priority will be given to programs reaching out to underrepresented girls in STEM, such as girls with disabilities and girls from diverse populations.

For more information or applications see the National Girls Collaborative Project website http://www.ngcproject.org/mini-grants.

For more information, contact Nancy C. Martin, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Louisville, via e-mail at Nancymartin@louisville.edu, or phone (502) 852-5226.

The Chicago Metro History Education Center, University of Illinois at Chicago, and Loyola University Chicago would like to invite K-12 teachers to apply for the National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute “Rethinking the Gilded Age and Progressive Era: Capitalism, Democracy, and Progressivisms, 1877 to 1920.”

NEH Summer Scholars will spend four weeks in Chicago (July 8-August 2, 2013), a center of Progressive Era reform, engaging in vigorous discussions about this critical time period in American history and creating materials to use in their classrooms. 

NEH Summer Scholars will explore new ways to look at the Gilded Age and Progressive Era through a wide variety of historical—and historiographical—matters. The focus will be on two of the most important themes of American history—capitalism and democracy. Award-winning historian Robert Johnston (University of Illinois at Chicago) will guide the institute’s academic content, with the help of renowned experts in history, art, and architecture. Charles Tocci (Loyola University Chicago) will direct teaching application discussions, along with master teacher Molly Myers (Lindblom Math and Science Academy).

Benefits include stimulating readings and discussions with scholars and peers;  time to explore and create practical applications for the classroom;  a $3,300 stipend to defray travel, lodging, and study expenses; and a chance to experience Chicago’s Gilded Age and Progressive Era history and culture personally. 

Visit www.gildedandprogressive.org or email cjohnson@chicagohistoryfair.org for more information. Applications are due March 4, 2013.

The Kentucky Center, in partnership with the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE), has announced  the 2013 Institute for ECE & Arts Integration.

The Institute is for Kentucky public school teachers of ECE (Exceptional Child Education) and Arts & Humanities in grades 3-8 and consists of three components:

• a six-hour Professional Development workshop on March 2 at Hardin County Schools Performing Arts Center
• a two-day artist residency in school during the spring of 2013
• a summit meeting on August 17 for sharing of lesson plans and student work

This program is designed for teacher teams comprised of an ECE teacher and an arts teacher from the same school. Ten teams will be selected. The deadline to apply is February 11, 2013. For an application form please go to http://www.kentuckycenter.org/content/downloads/ECE-Arts-Integration2013.pdf. If additional information is needed, please contact Stacy Ridgway at sridgway@kentuckycenter.org.

The deadline for applications to the first Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs (GSE) is February 15.

The three-week residential summer program gives creative students, working in teams, the opportunity to learn how to take an idea, turn it into a product or service, and develop a business around it. GSE will be held June 9-29 at Georgetown College. Kentucky students in 9^th, 10^th or 11^th grade may apply as an individual or as a team of two or more. There is no cost to attend. To apply, students need to submit:

• a two minute video about their idea or desire to participate
• a completed application form
• two recommendations sent on your behalf

Visit the GSE website to learn more.

The Social Studies Assessment, Curriculum, and Instruction (SSACI) collaborative, a consortium of 22 states and organizations, including Kentucky, convened by the Council of Chief State School Officers, is working to publish a new Framework for Social Studies in preparation for new standards.

SSACI is working to explicitly ensure that the Framework for Social Studies will support the Common Core English/language arts standards and is working to identify resources and criteria for resources that will support teachers in meeting both sets of standards.

The anticipated completion date of the Framework for Social Studies is spring 2013. KDE will convene a standards revision/development team to identify standards that will align to and address the Framework for Social Studies in the summer of 2013. Look for details in the spring.

The Kentucky Reading Project (KRP) is a yearlong graduate-level course centered on research-based reading instruction. It is taught by literacy faculty at each of the eight state universities. Teachers in grades K-5 may participate in KRP and will receive a stipend and graduate credit upon completion of the course in May 2014. The National Center for Family Literacy provides one day of training at each site. This initiative is directed by the Collaborative Center for Literacy Development; more than 3,050 educators have been trained through the program in the past 14 years.

For more information about KRP and the application for the 2013-14 cadre follow the link.

For questions or more information, contact Cary Pappas at cary.pappas@uky.edu or  (859) 257-6118.

The Living Arts and Science Center of Lexington will host professional development programs for K-8 teachers in Kentucky. 

LASC workshops are based on Kentucky core concepts and are scheduled for Jan. 29 and 31.

All workshop participants will receive a unit of study complete with lesson plans and a hands-on classroom activity kit. Call the Living Arts and Science Center to register for this free professional development opportunity. For more information, contact Katherine Bullock, kbullock@lasclex.org, at (859) 252-5222.

The Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) is working with Strategic Marketing and Research, Inc., to understand educators’ perceptions of historical organizations (museums, historic houses, battlefields and archives) and to gauge interest in using these organizations as a resource in classroom environments.

KHS is looking for school administrators, curriculum staff and educators in grades 4-12 currently teaching social studies, English/ language arts or a humanities course to participate in a focus group. The discussion will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 23, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET in Louisville. Participating teachers will receive a $50 Amazon gift card.

Those interested in participating and sharing opinions should contact Tim Talbott at tim.talbott@ky.gov, or (502) 564-1792, ext. 4428.