Kentucky Teacher

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) has developed resources to help explain the state’s new assessment and accountability model for public schools.

KDE has dedicated a page on its website to the Unbridled Learning: College/Career Readiness for All model, which was developed in response to the mandates of 2009’s Senate Bill 1. The page is accessible by clicking the Unbridled Learning icon on the KDE homepage or here.

Items posted on the page include two brochures – one on assessment, another on accountability – aimed at parents, but also intended for a general audience. Those brochures are posted near the bottom of the page, in two formats (a printable brochure layout and a text version).

Another posted item called Unbridled Learning Summary provides a graphic representation of the way the new accountability model will impact schools and districts.

Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday explains the new accountability model in a videotaped presentation, also now available. The presentation may be accessed at mms://video1.education.ky.gov/Accountability_4-12-2012.

The Unbridled Learning accountability model will be applied for the first time to test scores and other data from the current school year. This month, public school students begin taking the new Kentucky Performance Rating for Educational Progress (K-PREP) tests in reading, mathematics, science, social studies and writing. Read the full story

There will be a convening for elementary, middle and high school administrators and business leaders from across South Central Kentucky on March 29, 2012, to co-construct a vision for a globally prepared workforce.

This activity aligns to KDE’s Delivery Plan for program reviews, including world language, and college- and career- readiness.  The event, sponsored by the Kentucky Department of Education and the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce will take place from 8:00 – 11:00 a.m. CST, at the Holiday Inn University Plaza, in Bowling Green.

Presenters include a Washington, D.C. Cultural trainer and representatives from the Kentucky World Trade Center, Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce, the U.S. Army, and the Georgia Department of Education.

Similar events will be held in Northern Kentucky on May 24th and in Eastern Kentucky at a date to be determined.

RSVP is required through the BG Chamber of Commerce or KDE at jacqueline.vanhouten@education.ky.gov.

Next week, students across Kentucky will be getting advice on what they can do academically to prepare for college or career as part of Operation Preparation.

Gov. Steve Beshear has issued a proclamation declaring March 12-16 as Operation Preparation College and Career Advising Week.

During Operation Preparation, 8th- and 10th-grade students are scheduled to meet with trained community advisors to review their college and career plans as identified in their Individual Learning Plans (ILPs) and talk about:

• career aspirations and required education/training
• whether the student is on target to meet his or her goals
• whether the student is taking the courses recommended to prepare him or her for the future

“We want to help students realize their potential, maximize their academic preparation and stay on track for success during and after high school,” said Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday.

College/career-readiness is one of the measures on which schools and districts will be judged as part of the state’s new Unbridled Learning: College/Career-Readiness for All assessment and accountability system. Read the full story

By Nancy C. Rodriguez
nancy.rodriguez@education.ky.gov

Henderson County High School junior Jake Walker, Russell High School sophomore Morgan Casto and Murray High School sophomore Tiffany Parham laugh with House Education Chairman and state Rep. Carl Rollins as he jokes with them about education bills during the inaugural meeting of the Next-Generation Student Council in Frankfort. Photo by Amy Wallot, Feb. 28, 2012

They are usually on the receiving end of instruction, but last Tuesday a group of teenagers from around the state schooled Education Commissioner Terry Holliday on what it is like to be a high school student in Kentucky.

The students – members of the inaugural Next-Generation Student Council that was announced in January – left few topics untouched, moving seamlessly between discussing ways to make dual-credit courses more affordable and concerns about end-of-course exams to debating the merits of raising the compulsory school attendance age from 16 to 18.

“We’re really excited about you guys being here, and we’re looking forward to the feedback you’re going to give us,” Holliday told the 11-member council during its first meeting. “We want to hear what’s exciting to you about school and what’s not exciting.”

Holliday announced this past fall he was creating the council as a way to get student input on school issues and receive feedback on how state-level decisions are affecting students throughout Kentucky.

Students applied to be on the council, which was open to public school students in 10^th through 12^th grades. The inaugural council includes students who hail from all corners of the state, from Murray to Pikeville, and everywhere in between. They also represent diverse academic and demographic backgrounds as well as school sizes. This first group of students will serve during the 2011-12 school year, and those who are not graduating seniors may reapply to serve in the 2012-13 school year. Read the full story

Education Cabinet Secretary Joseph U. Meyer is asking superintendents to complete a brief survey as part of a High School Outreach Initiative with the Kentucky Workforce Investment Board.

Please complete the survey by Monday, February 20.  To access the survey, please go to the following link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KHTJD3L.

For further information, please contact Melisa Quillen at MelissaW.Quillen@ky.gov.

The U.S. Department of Education (USED) announced today that Kentucky’s application for flexibility under federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act/No Child Left Behind (ESEA/NCLB) has been approved.

The application and related appendices may be seen on KDE’s Unbridled Learning page, here.

“Kentucky is once again leading the nation in the area of public school accountability,” said Gov. Steve Beshear. “This federal flexibility opens a new chapter in the Commonwealth’s work to ensure a well-educated citizenry. I congratulate our teachers, administrators, state agency staff, Kentucky Board of Education members, legislators and education partners on this great accomplishment.”

“The granting of this request means that Kentucky can continue the forward momentum that began with the passage of Senate Bill 1 in 2009,” said Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday. “The accountability model that we will use for state and federal purposes provides in-depth information about every school and district, so that we can focus our resources on the areas of greatest need and challenge our students and educators to constantly improve toward the ultimate goal of college and career readiness.” Read the full story

The Kentucky Reading Project (KRP) is a professional development program that focuses on Senate Bill 1 mandates; Kentucky Core Academic Standards; college and career readiness preparation; and formative assessments.

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 2013.

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 2,900 educators have been trained through this program in 13 years.

For more information about KRP and the application for the 2012-13 cadre, go to http://www.kentuckyliteracy.org/elementary/krp/forms or contact Cary Pappas, at (859) 257-6118.

The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) was recently awarded a three-year grant totaling $720,000 from Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors to improve college readiness. Kentucky was one of 10 states selected to receive the grant.

The grant program, called Core to College: Preparing Students for College Readiness and Success, aims to foster long-term collaborations between state higher education and P-12 entities that will improve student achievement and college readiness.

The focus is on using the Common Core State Standards and assessments to establish a statewide definition of college readiness and set of college readiness indicators to signal a student’s preparedness for credit-bearing college courses.

“Kentucky’s grant activities will build on the tremendous momentum already underway with P-12 and postsecondary education,” said Council President Bob King. “Thanks to Senate Bill 1 in 2009 and the one-time funding we received for implementation, Kentucky is leading the nation with our collaborative work to improve college readiness and, ultimately, increase rates of enrollment and graduation necessary to build a more highly skilled workforce. This grant will bolster our efforts as we continue this important work.” Read the full story

Susan Meadows sits with Christopher Empson and a small group of students practicing writing and scissor work during her preschool class at Caldwell County Primary School. Photo by Amy Wallot, Nov. 15, 2011

By Tracy Goff-Herman
tracy.herman@education.ky.gov

With the continuing national recession, Kentucky’s revenue situation hasn’t improved. 

As such, the General Assembly’s focus will likely be on maintaining current funding levels, plugging holes and, when possible, restoring funding to pre-recession levels.

In anticipation of the upcoming session, the Kentucky Board of Education (KBE) has finalized its list of budgetary and legislative priorities. The Kentucky Department of Education’s (KDE’s) focus will be on supporting and obtaining adequate funding for these strategic priorities.

There are four foundational items in KDE’s budget request. They are the programmatic policies that will enable the commonwealth’s education system to prepare students to be college- and career-ready. They include:

Funding for school improvement: This $13.3 million request would provide funding to assist non-Title I, low-performing schools. Schools and districts would use the funds to pay for efforts aimed at promoting student academic growth, reducing dropout rates and improving graduation rates.  Read the full story

Dale Winkler, executive director of career and technical education, visits with students at the Franklin County Career and Technical Center. Photo by Tim Thornberry

Dale Winkler serves as the new executive director of Education and Workforce Development Cabinet’s Office of Career and Technical Education (OCTE) as well as the director of the Kentucky Department of Education’s College and Career Readiness Branch.

Winkler also serves as the lead staff to the Career and Technical Education Steering Committee that will be studying how to best carry out the recommendations from the Governor’s Transforming Education in Kentucky Task Force report. Winkler began his new position in June.

Before taking his dual-role job, Winkler earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting (1994), Certification in Business Education (1996) and master’s degree in education (1999) from Cumberland College. In 2002, he completed a Rank I in Educational Leadership and Administration from Eastern Kentucky University. In May 2010, Winkler graduated from the University of Kentucky with a doctorate in Educational Leadership Studies. Read the full story