Kentucky Teacher

Cindy Hudson, the secretary at Daviess County High School in Daviess County, has been chosen as the 2013 recipient of the Kentucky Association of School Administrators’ prestigious Wanda Luttrell Office Professional Award.

Named in honor of KASA’s longtime office manager, the award has been presented annually since 1981 to a member of Kentucky’s educational support staff who has contributed significantly to the efforts of the administrative team and who exhibits resourcefulness, commitment, professionalism, and a positive attitude.

Daviess County Assistant Superintendent, Julie Clark, describes Hudson in this way, “Cindy is charged with an unimaginable number of responsibilities.  Despite bearing the weight of all these responsibilities, Mrs. Hudson always stops what she is doing when a student, a teacher, a parent, or a visitor walks into her office for help or to see the principal.”  She goes on to describe Hudson as a “…self-motivated learner whose thirst for knowledge is obvious.” Read the full story

Elementary School Teacher of the Year Heidi Givens works with 7th-grade students RayAnna Hutchins and Nycheala Smith on reading skills at College View Middle School (Daviess County).
Photo by Amy Wallot, Nov. 27, 2012

Compassion, the concern over another person’s well-being, is a character trait all teachers hope to instill in students. We give of ourselves every day, not just by teaching the Common Core State Standards, but by being counselors, nurses and sometimes parents to our students. In today’s society, it is important for everyone to contribute to the betterment of the community, whether it is by helping a neighbor bring the trash to the sidewalk on collection day or donating clothes to charity. We can only hope our students will develop compassion and empathy that will prepare them to be productive and caring members of society.

After being honored with the title of 2013 Kentucky Elementary Teacher of the Year, I knew I wanted to use some of my earnings to thank those who supported me through the process. I threw a surprise pizza party for Mrs. Wedding’s class at Owensboro Middle School, where I co-taught during the observation portion of the award process. During the party, I gave the class $100 to do with as they wished. These 5th-grade students started brainstorming different fun games they could buy until Read the full story

By Susan Riddell
susan.riddell@education.ky.gov

Christine Gish, with the Daviess County Public Library, reads a book about trains while deaf and hard-of-hearing preschool teacher Laurie VanConia signs for students in Connie Johnson's preschool class at Country Heights Elementary School (Daviess County). Photo by Amy Wallot, May 9, 2012

Once a month during the school year, Connie Johnson’s preschool students at Country Heights Elementary School (Daviess County) get a special visit from community librarian Christine Gish.

Recently, Gish introduced a book, Old Black Fly, by Jim Aylesworth, with a special prop: a giant flyswatter.

“It was about  four times as big as a regular flyswatter,” Johnson said. “She surprised them with it at the end of the book. Throughout the book she would ‘shoo’ the fly on each page, and at the end of the story she brought out the giant flyswatter. (She had it hidden.) and swatted the fly in the book. They were surprised, and they thought this was funny. The children loved it.

“The public library is a great community partner,” Johnson added.

It’s also one of many partners the preschools in the Daviess County school district collaborate with throughout the school year.

“Community partners enable us to bring the community into our classroom,” Johnson said. “This helps our preschoolers and their families become more aware of the resources available in the community.” Read the full story

Kentucky college professors recently learned about new approaches to teaching public school students mathematics, literacy and writing skills at a conference organized by the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence.

Faculty members from 25 state universities, private institutions and community colleges heard from Kentucky teachers from Kenton and Fayette counties who are working with the Mathematics Design Collaborative and Literacy Design Collaborative, piloting efforts to improve teaching and learning.

The Prichard Committee has worked to coordinate the districts piloting these new mathematics and literacy efforts in Kentucky, which were funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

“These new strategies have shown great promise for giving students a deeper understanding of math concepts and connecting writing to challenging thinking in science, social studies and language arts classes,” said Stu Silberman, executive director of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence.

The seminar, funded by the Council on Postsecondary Education and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is part of a state-backed program to update postsecondary leaders and educators on the impact of overhauled academic standards that K-12 students are expected to learn as part of Senate Bill 1. Read the full story

An $8.8 million, three-year grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will support teachers and students in 12 school districts, the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) announced today.

This investment, known as an “Integration Grant,” will support the integration of several critical streams of work – measures of effective teaching, implementation of the Common Core State Standards and the development of innovative tools and resources to help teachers deliver instruction. 

Kentucky is one of three states, including Colorado and Louisiana, to receive an Integration Grant from the foundation.

“The 12 school districts involved in this work will be models for the rest of the state,” said Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday. “Their efforts will be crucial to Kentucky’s implementation of the Common Core State Standards. Students will receive meaningful and rigorous instruction, while their teachers will be supported through high-quality resources and measurement of their effectiveness.” Read the full story

Kentucky School for the Deaf regional outreach consultant Andy Hensley signs with Green County Middle School 6th-grade students Allanah McBride and Riley Suratt Nov. 16, 2010. Photo by Amy Wallot

By Susan Riddell
susan.riddell@education.ky.gov

Even though the Kentucky schools for the blind and deaf, respectively, are centrally located in the state doesn’t mean that all students needing their services can attend.

And while most districts offer high-quality teachers capable of educating these students, sometimes they need more resources than those teachers can offer.

That’s when people like Betsy Flener and Andy Hensley can help. Read the full story

Business teacher Jackie Revlett speaks to students during her Computer Applications class at Daviess County High School May 19, 2010. "We want our business students to graduate with the skills necessary for the workforce," she said. "We must prepare them all with the skills they need to succeed." Photo by Amy Wallot

Daviess County teacher inspires students through technology

By Susan Riddell
susan.riddell@education.ky.gov

Jackie Revlett had trouble selecting a major while she was attending Murray State University. She went from music therapy to nursing to accounting to computer science.

“I enjoyed business classes in college, but knew that my personality would not conform to an office cubicle from 8 to 5,” Revlett said.

Read the full story

By Susan Riddell
susan.riddell@education.ky.gov

Freshman Jenny McIntosh, left, Jerrika Combs, center, and Emily Wink use treadmills that were donated to Daviess County High School by a local hospital as part of the district’s Graduation 2010 program. The program, which was originally designed to expose students to the arts, has grown to include components such as music, foreign language, literacy, critical thinking, physical and emotional health, and family and community involvement. Photo by Amy Wallot

Now it’s a part of who they are.

Graduation 2010, an effort created by the Daviess County school district in the fall of 1997, was intended to expose students to the arts, especially those who might not get those opportunities outside the school setting. But it went beyond that, according to Superintendent Tom Shelton.

“Elements of Graduation 2010 have become embedded into our district identity,” Shelton said. “The arts, music, foreign language, literacy, critical thinking, physical and emotional health, family involvement and community involvement are no longer specifically categorized as ‘Graduation 2010 programs,’ but rather are just a part of who we are and how we educate kids. Read the full story