Kentucky Teacher

At its meeting yesterday, the Kentucky Board of Education and Education Commissioner Terry Holliday urged local school boards to “be courageous” and adopt a policy to raise the compulsory school attendance age to 18 effective in the 2015-16 school year.

The state board approved a resolution encouraging districts to be early adopters of the policy, “in order to send a strong message that completing high school is essential to ensuring that every student graduates college- and career-ready.”

Local boards of education can begin adopting such a policy on July 1 or thereafter that would take effect in the 2015-16 school year.

Commissioner Holliday announced a program to award $10,000 planning grants to the first 57 districts to approve a policy raising the dropout age prior to the 2015-16 school year.  The money can be used to develop a required plan for implementation that would include integration of career and technical education, engagement of the community and the use of community resources.

Legislation passed in the most recent General Assembly includes a provision that once 55 percent of districts adopt a policy requiring students to stay in school until they are 18, the remainder of districts must do so within four years. Early adoption of the policy would allow districts to inform students beginning with the Class of 2019 of the change and give school and district staffs time to plan for its successful implementation. Read the full story

Education Commissioner Terry Holliday and New York Commissioner of Education John King testifiy before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP).

Today, Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday asked Congress to continue to allow flexibility on federal education requirements to enable states like Kentucky to move forward with reform efforts to best serve the needs of all students.

Holliday appeared before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) at a hearing titled “No Child Left Behind: Early Lessons from State Flexibility Waivers.”

No Child Left Behind, the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965, was up for reauthorization in 2007. Congress has yet to act. The U.S. Department of Education offered states flexibility on the requirements of No Child Left Behind through a waiver application process. Kentucky was one of the first states granted a waiver — allowing funding flexibility and flexibility to use the new Unbridled Learning: College/Career-Readiness for All accountability system for both state and federal accountability.

In his testimony today, Commissioner Holliday said, “Kentucky completed a waiver application that built on the key components of NCLB. We kept a focus on proficiency, achievement gaps, graduation rate and annual progress. However, we moved to a more rigorous standard – college and career readiness for all students.”

The commissioner said the waivers have allowed states to escape the unintended consequences of No Child Left Behind, such as lower standards, “teaching to the test” and loss of a balanced approach to education with reduction in the arts, physical education, science and other critical subject areas.

Holliday cited early progress the state has made since the implementation of Senate Bill 1 (2009) and flexibility on ESEA – higher graduation rates and a college/career readiness rate that has improved from 34 percent in 2010 to 47 percent for the class of 2012.

He urged Congress to use the waiver process to inform ESEA reauthorization efforts and highlight the value of state flexibility in federal law.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan also testified at the hearing as did New York Commissioner of Education Dr. John King; Andrew Smarick, Bellwether Education Partners; and Kati Haycock, President of the Education Trust in Washington D.C.

A video recording of the hearing is available here.

Terry Holliday

No matter how busy my schedule gets as Kentucky’s education commissioner, I am always interested in receiving feedback. That’s one of the many reasons I meet regularly with staff, connect through social media and visit schools around the state. The comments, questions and ideas I receive from all of these and many other activities are invaluable, and I believe help Kentucky continue making gains in its pledge to ensure every child is college and career ready.

That is why I am such a big supporter of the TELL Kentucky survey which was first administered in 2011. TELL stands for Teaching, Empowering, Leading and Learning – the actions we are seeking to optimize in our schools.

Next month, March 4 through March 29, every certified staff member in Kentucky’s public schools will again have an opportunity to use this anonymous, Web-based survey to voice their perceptions of the teaching and learning conditions in Kentucky schools.

The survey, which is voluntary and confidential, will query certified staff about working conditions in areas such as leadership, facilities, resources, professional development, empowerment and time.

The results will be used by school-based decision making councils, schools, districts, the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE), the Kentucky Board of Education (KBE) and numerous other organizations to improve the working conditions in our schools and districts. Read the full story

Kentucky State Auditor of Public Accounts Adam Edelen, who has made news recently with his reports on spending in three school systems, will address the state’s top local school administrators in Louisville at the winter conference of the Kentucky Association of School Administrators.

The topic of Edelen’s remarks is, “Superintendents’ Role as Stewards and Guardians.” He is scheduled to speak at the 8:30 a.m. closing session of the conference on Wednesday, Dec. 5, at the Galt House Hotels and Conference Center.

The conference opens on Monday, Dec. 3, at 4 p.m. when Education Commissioner Terry Holliday gives his regular update to the participating superintendents.

Other speakers at the conference include:

• House Education Committee Chairman Carl Rollins, Wednesday
• Ron Crouch, Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet, Monday Read the full story

Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday is the president-elect of the Council of Chief State School Officers’ (CCSSO’s) 2013-14 Board of Directors.

Elections took place during the 2012 Annual Policy Forum and Business Meeting in Savannah, Georgia November 15-17. Mitchell Chester, commissioner of education in Massachusetts, assumed the role of CCSSO president.

“I’m honored to be named CCSSO president-elect,” said Holliday. “This organization serves a crucial purpose for public education nationwide, and I look forward to working with my state-level peers on policy and advocacy.”

In December 2010, Holliday was named to the board of directors for CCSSO. He also serves on the National Assessment Governing Board, which sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), known as the Nation’s Report Card. In February 2012, Holliday was named as a member of the national Commission on Standards and Performance Reporting, which will develop rigorous accreditation standards for educator preparation that will raise the bar for preparation Read the full story

At its study session on Monday and regular meeting on Tuesday, the Kentucky Board of Education heard several presentations and took action on a number of items.

The board approved Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday’s annual evaluation, noting that his performance continues to be outstanding.

“We give you a solid ‘A’ for the progress you have made over the last year and are very pleased with your commitment to a new contract to lead educational improvement in Kentucky as its commissioner,” the board said in a letter to the commissioner.

Additionally, the commissioner’s goals for 2012-13 were approved.

The board approved the Kentucky Teaching Conditions Standards, which were developed to address recommendations of the Teaching, Empowering, Leading and Learning (TELL) Kentucky survey.

The board also agreed to uphold the commissioner of education’s July 2012 decision related to the Corbin Independent/Knox County non-resident student agreement. Read the full story

School innovation will be the focus of a special summit planned for Louisville later this month.

The Kentucky Department of Education and the eight regional education cooperatives – led by the Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative ­– have scheduled a two-day discussion of ways to champion innovation, efficiency and creativity in the state’s public education system.

“Kentucky Leads the Nation – Creating a Culture of Innovation” will take place Friday, Oct. 26 and Saturday, Oct. 27 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and Conference Center in Louisville.

Invited participants are district teams of board members, superintendents, administrators, teachers, community leaders and education advocates.

Education Commissioner Terry Holliday and Kentucky Department of Education Director of Innovation and Community Engagement David Cook will kickoff the event on Friday with a talk that focuses on Kentucky’s Continuum of Innovation, Innovation Self-Assessment or Districts and how school districts can apply for District of Innovation status. Read the full story

Commissioner Terry Holliday

With more jobs requiring at least some postsecondary education or training, college and career readiness is driving major changes that are taking root in Kentucky public schools.

The implementation of more rigorous academic standards that are aligned with the concepts and 21^st century skills students need to know to succeed in college and the workplace plays an important role in that shift. But just making classes harder, so to speak, isn’t the only step we need to take to truly transform education in Kentucky.

Research shows that if schools create safe, supportive, and respectful learning environments that personalize young people’s learning experiences, they can help them achieve more academic success and better prepare them for life after high school. A comprehensive advising program that includes both academic and non-academic programs and for which responsibility is shared through a school is key to making this happen.

A strong advising program can result in reduced retention rates, decreased truancy and behavioral issues, increased test scores and graduation rates, as well as improved interpersonal relationships and greater college/career readiness.

Kentucky’s Advising Toolkit and Transition Toolkit can help districts create comprehensive advising programs. Read the full story

Commissioner Terry Holliday

The implementation of 2009’s Senate Bill 1, the work of which is now called Unbridled Learning, is becoming a reality.  

As is the case when undertaking major change or a series of changes, day-to-day challenges and pressures can become our focus and the larger picture or goals can become less clear. That is understandable given the amount of work involved with Unbridled Learning and the ongoing financial challenges faced by our state.

But it also is good to stop and remember the bigger picture, and how all of the components of this new system work together to help us reach our goal. In the case of Unbridled Learning, here are seven components that interact to produce results. With Unbridled Learning, we are trying to address all seven components. They include:

1.) Expectations – The Kentucky General Assembly was very clear about expectations for college/career readiness through the passage of Senate Bill 1. We have worked closely with higher education, military, and industry to clearly define expectations for high school graduates, and through the Common Core Standards, we have defined expectations to the kindergarten level. Read the full story

Commissioner Terry Holliday

The 2011-12 school year is over, and summer is here. It is a good time for Kentucky teachers and students to rest, relax and reenergize after a year that was filled with changes. From new standards to a new testing system and an increased focus on college and career readiness, our work was about transforming Kentucky education for the sake of our students and the future of our state. It was an exciting and, at times, stressful year.

A break is in order – but not for long.

While summer is synonymous with carefree fun, it should not be learning free. To succeed in school and life, children and adults need ongoing opportunities to learn and practice essential skills. This is especially true during the summer months.

Unfortunately, mounting research has documented summer slide, a cumulative loss of academic skills over the summer months. All students are prone to summer slide but there is evidence that it disproportionately affects low-income students, contributes to high dropout rates and a persistent academic achievement gap between richer and poorer students. Read the full story