Kentucky Teacher

The Lucille Ross School Nurse of the Year Award is presented at the annual March KSNA Spring Conference Banquet to one school nurse who has demonstrated excellence in her school nursing practice.

Those interested in nominating a school nurse should e-mail Sharyl Iden prior to Jan. 25. Iden will contact nominees with instructions for completing the application process.

More than 200 students recently showcased their environmental projects at the Kentucky Green and Healthy Schools (KGHS) and Kentucky National Energy Education Development (NEED) Project Youth Summit and Awards luncheon.

“With all of our school districts facing budget cuts, every penny matters,” said First Lady Jane Beshear. “I am impressed at the initiative shown by so many students and teachers. Through their efforts, many districts have saved enough money on energy costs to purchase new textbooks or keep a teacher in the classroom.

“As an added benefit, we are preparing our students to tackle the energy conservation and sustainability challenges of not only today, but also those of tomorrow,” Beshear added.

Representatives from 30 schools attended the fifth annual event which recognizes student participation in the KGHS program and the Kentucky NEED Project. Continue Reading

Three outstanding educators have been selected for the fifth class of the Gov. Louie B. Nunn Kentucky Teacher Hall of Fame.

The three, chosen by a statewide selection committee, are Estelle Bayer and Sharon Graves of Madison County and the late Helen P. Raby of Logan County.

They will be inducted during a ceremony at 1 p.m. Feb. 14 at the State Capitol in Frankfort.

The Kentucky Teacher Hall of Fame was created in 2000 through a gift by former Gov. Nunn, who hoped to recognize the vital role that primary and secondary teachers in Kentucky play in the education of young people and the positive impact education has on the state’s economy.

For more information on the winners, please click here.

The 2012 Financial Literacy Teacher of the Year award from the Kentucky Jump$tart Coalition honors a Kentucky teacher in grades K-12 who demonstrates an exceptional commitment to teaching financial literacy topics and motivating students to learn about personal finance.

The $250 grand prize can be used for financial literacy classroom materials or to attend the national Jump$tart teacher conference. Self-nominations are accepted.

The deadline to enter is May 1, 2012. Click here for a nomination form.

Forward in the Fifth – a nonprofit organization created in 1986 by U.S. Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers (KY-05) to reverse southern and eastern Kentucky’s low educational attainment levels – will celebrate its 25th anniversary on Nov. 7 in Hazard with an awards luncheon and Unbridled Learning Educational Summit.

Educators, business leaders, parents and students from across the region will meet at Hazard Community and Technical College to celebrate the organization’s successes and discuss Kentucky’s top education issues.

The event is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. in the college’s First Federal Building, with a reception followed by an awards luncheon featuring Congressman Rogers. During the luncheon, Rogers will present “Difference Maker Awards” to five individuals who have worked to advance education in the region and throughout the state. Continue Reading

The School for the Creative and Performing Arts (SCAPA) (Fayette County) has been named winner of the Governor’s Awards in the Arts’ Education Award. The Kentucky Arts Council and Gov. Steve Beshear will present the award to SCAPA at a public ceremony Oct. 20 in the Capitol Rotunda.

The Education Award is handed out for significant contributions to the arts in education and is awarded to a Kentucky individual, school, school district or organization annually.

SCAPA has provided students who are especially talented and/or interested in the arts the opportunity to develop and enhance their abilities since 1987.

To see more winners, go to the press release on the Kentucky Arts Council website at http://artscouncil.ky.gov.

Seventy Kentucky participants received 32 gold, 26 silver and 12 bronze medals in 28 national Students Taking Action with Recognition (STAR) Events recently as more than 6,300 nationwide members, advisers, alumni and guests of the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), gathered in Anaheim, Calif., for its 2011 National Leadership Conference.

From Kentucky, 180 members from 28 schools attended.

This year’s student-originated theme for the meeting was “Imagination in Action.” Throughout the five-day convention, participants examined and discussed several critical issues, including family, school and community violence prevention; physical and financial fitness; future career exploration; and countless community service projects. Continue Reading

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) awarded Kentucky two education awards earlier this month.
One was the inaugural John I. Wilson Leadership for Learning Award for the state’s Content Leadership Networks and Continuous Instructional Improvement Technology System (CIITS). The award honors John Wilson, National Education Association executive director, and founding member of P21 who is retiring this year. The criteria for the award include an emphasis on multi-stakeholder collaboration to honor John Wilson’s collaborative spirit and ability to create unique partnerships on behalf of the nation’s children.
Kentucky also won a 21st Century Education Award for the state’s Model Curriculum Framework. Kentucky and nine other states won the award in recognition of efforts to integrate 21st-century skills into their policy, practice and professional development.

Secretary of State Elaine Walker has announced three public school winners for the 2011 annual election slogan and essay contest managed by her office with support from the Kentucky Education Association Retired and the University of Kentucky Scripps Howard First Amendment Center, a division of the School of Journalism and Telecommunications.

The contest was created by the Kentucky General Assembly to promote civic engagement among Kentucky students. Topics for the contest focus on some aspect the election process in Kentucky and First Amendment freedoms included in the U.S. Constitution. Teachers are encouraged to integrate the topics into classroom curriculum by including them in core content lessons so all students benefit.

The contest theme addressed the rise in the number of voters who were registered as independents compared to numbers of independents elected to office and how those numbers may be influenced by media coverage.

Natalie Farrar, a LaRue County High School freshman from Hodgenville, was an essay contest winner.

Bailey Tungate, who attends Lebanon Middle School (Marion County), won $300 for the slogan, “They fought for the right; the rest is up to you.” James Jacobs, who attends Saint Charles Middle School (Marion County), received $200 for his third-place slogan, “Vote now or forever hold your peace.” Voter slogan contest winners were decided by judges and an online poll.

Students interested in entering the contests for 2012 or teachers who want the contest themes to include in their curricula should contact Patrick Keal by calling (502) 564-3490.

The Prichard Committee recognized the head of its parent leadership efforts, Bev Raimondo, for 20 years of work for the organization. She was recognized during the group’s June meeting at General Butler State Park in Carrollton.

Raimondo joined the Prichard staff in 1991 after a career at IBM.

After the passage of the Kentucky Education Reform Act in 1990, Raimondo created and managed a network of professional staff to organize more than 60 Community Committees for Education in more than 90 Kentucky school districts to support education reform. She created and has led the Commonwealth Institute for Parent Leadership since it began in 1997. More than 1,500 Kentucky parents have become CIPL fellows.

In 2002, Raimondo also began directing the Center for Parent Leadership, a consulting unit of the Prichard Committee that has helped organizations across the nation develop parent leadership training programs. She is a native of Lexington and graduate of the University of Kentucky.