Kentucky Teacher

The Kentucky Department of Education’s Division of Next-Generation Professionals is accepting applications for the Minority Superintendent Internship Program (MSIP). 

MSIP is designed to identify and train a pool of highly-qualified and highly-effective minority superintendent candidates for Kentucky’s public school districts. The program provides qualified candidates with the opportunity for hands-on, mentored experiences with Kentucky superintendents and education leaders.

The deadline for applications is 4:30 p.m. ET on May 31. The MSIP application packet is available online here.

MSIP is a two-tier leadership development program for minorities who aspire to become Kentucky school superintendents. Tier I MSIP is a two-year program designed for participants with administrative/superintendent certification and a minimum of five years of experience as a local school district administrator. Tier II MSIP is designed for participants who are emerging education leaders, and candidates may be enrolled in a superintendent preparation program.

The Tier I and Tier II MSIP cohorts will begin on July 1. Continue Reading

A draft of the Next-Generation Science Standards is now available for public review. The NGSS are available at http://www.nextgenscience.org/next-generation-science-standards, and the public comment period continues until June 1.

The Kentucky Department of Education encourages educators, parents, business people, scientists, engineers and all others interested in science education to review the draft standards and submit their comments. This public review period is an important opportunity for Kentucky residents to influence the standards that will guide how our nation’s students will learn science for years to come.

The 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress – NAEP – science scores show that Kentucky’s 8th graders outperformed the nation.

The NAEP science grading scale ranges from 0 to 300

Key results from the 2011 NAEP science assessments for 8th graders include:

• Disaggregated scale scores show that, in all but one category, Kentucky students outperformed the nation. The only Kentucky group that did not have higher scores than the nation was 8th-grade white students, whose average scale score was 160, compared to the national average of 163 for the same group.
• The average science score for 8th-grade students in Kentucky was 157. This was higher than that of the nation’s public schools (151). The average score for students in Kentucky in 2011 (157) was not significantly different from that in 2009 (156).
• The percentage of students in Kentucky who performed at or above Proficient was 34 percent. This was greater than that for the nation’s public schools (31 percent).
•  The percentage of students in Kentucky who performed at or above Proficient in 2011 (34 percent) was not significantly different from that in 2009 (34 percent). Continue Reading

Gov. Steve Beshear recently joined community leaders and students at Calloway County Middle School to celebrate the completion of two new safety sidewalk projects.

Murray received a combined $339,000 in investment for the projects, aimed at improving pedestrian and bicycle access for local students.

“These projects have afforded students the opportunity to walk or bike to school without compromising their safety,” Gov. Beshear said. “Students and pedestrians in the city of Murray will greatly benefit from these overdue safety enhancement and energy efficient projects.”

The combined funding included a $214,000 Safe Routes to School grant and $125,000 Energy Efficiency Block Grant (EECBG).

The Safe Routes to School project provided a safe pedestrian and bicycle route from North 18th Street to College Farm Road, which connects to Calloway County Middle School. More than 120 students live within a two-mile radius of the school and can benefit from this sidewalk addition.

The EECBG allowed for construction of sidewalk along a section of North 16th Street, providing Murray State University students a way to walk safely to campus rather than be dependent on cars. The project included a pedestrian walking bridge and is located just down the road from the Safe Routes to School project. Continue Reading

Gov. Steve Beshear signed a bill on Monday that will benefit students with disabilities by allowing them to earn an alternative high school diploma.

“We know how important it is that every student receives an education, and how important it is to high school students that they be rewarded with a diploma for their hard work when they successfully complete their studies,” Beshear said. “This new legislation recognizes that students with disabilities have the same desire to earn a high school diploma as their peers do. This makes that possible for them.”

Previously, such students could earn only a certificate of attainment if they are considered ineligible for statewide assessments.

Senate Bill 43, which passed unanimously in the House and Senate, allows for an alternative high school diploma for students with disabilities whose individualized education program indicates the student cannot participate in the regular statewide assessments. The Kentucky Board of Education will develop regulations outlining the requirements for the alternative high school diplomas.

Sen. Dennis Parrett, D-Elizabethtown, the bill’s sponsor and parent to a student who will benefit from the bill, joined Beshear, school officials and students for the signing held at Central Hardin High School in Cecilia. Continue Reading

Gov. Steve Beshear has made appointments to two Kentucky boards.

Nawanna B. Privett, an education consultant from Lexington, was appointed to the Kentucky Board of Education. She represents the Fifth Supreme Court District. The appointment replaces C. B. Akins Sr., who resigned.

Privett’s term expires April 14, 2014.

Beshear also appointed Michael H. Ross, a teacher at Mason County High School,  to the Education Professional Standards Board to serve for the remainder of the unexpired term ending Sept. 18, 2014. Ross will present secondary school teachers. The appointment replaces Laranna L. May, who resigned.

Kentucky’s elementary school students can enjoy fresh fruit and vegetables through the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program(FFVP), a federal program designed to increase elementary school children’s consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, to expose those students to new fruits and vegetables, to improve healthy eating habits and to help elementary schools create healthier school food environments. 

At a minimum of $50 per student over the course of the year, nearly 55,000 students can be served through the program.

Eligible elementary schools (those that contain any combination of grades preschool through 6) may fill out grant applications to receive program funding. Kentucky received $2.7 million in FFVP funding for the 2012-13 school year. The criteria for the grants is set by Section 19(d) of the National School Lunch Act:

• To the maximum extent possible, highest priority will be given to schools with the highest proportion of children who are eligible for free and reduced-price meals.
• Schools must be elementary schools or have the ability to separate out elementary school students in a K-12 program.
• Schools must operate the National School Lunch Program.
• Schools must have 50 percent or more of their students eligible for free/reduced-price meals. Continue Reading

Three Kentucky public schools were among 78 nationwide named U.S. Department of Education (USED) Green Ribbon Schools.

The three are:

• Rosa Parks Elementary, Fayette Co.
• Georgetown Middle, Scott Co.
• Richardsville Elementary, Warren Co.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, along with White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson, announced the list of first-ever U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools on Monday.

U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools is a federal recognition program that opened in September 2011. Honored schools exercise a comprehensive approach to creating “green” environments through reducing environmental impact, promoting health and ensuring a high-quality environmental and outdoor education to prepare students with the 21st-century skills and sustainability concepts needed in the growing global economy. Continue Reading

The Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection (DEP) is honoring the six winning 2012 Eco-Art Contest high school artists this week by presenting awards at the respective schools.

The Kentucky students used the contest themes or categories of conservation, pollution prevention and environmental protection and submitted artwork using the media types of drawing/painting/print, mixed media, sculpture and photographs.

The winners of the 2012 Eco-Art Contest are:

• Emily Larson from Taylor County High School in Campbellsville
• Stephen Welch and Erin Downs from North Bullitt High School in Shepherdsville
• Jacob Turner from Western Hills High School in Frankfort
• Kisaki Takeuchi from Lyon County High School in Eddyville
• Amber Pyle from Pleasure Ridge Park High School in Louisville Continue Reading