Kentucky Teacher

The Kentucky School Counselor Association (KSCA) is accepting nominations for outstanding Elementary, Middle and High School Counselor of the Year.

KSCA also is taking nominations for Principal of the Year.

To complete an online nomination form, go to www.kyschoolcounselor.org.

Editor’s note: Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), enacted in the 2009 Kentucky General Assembly, requires a new public school assessment program beginning in the 2011-2012 school year. Kentucky Teacher is doing a series of stories explaining the Unbridled Learning: College/Career Readiness for All assessment and accountability system this month. This article focuses on elementary school assessment. Future stories will focus on middle school assessment, high school assessment and accountability. The system is subject to U.S. Department of Education approval and may be changed prior to adoption.

By Matthew Tungate
matthew.tungate@education.ky.gov

Cavin Wallace answers questions about prepositions in Heather Brumley's 5th-grade class at Taylor Elementary School (Bracken County). Photo by Amy Wallot, Dec. 6, 2011

Despite significant changes to Kentucky’s public school assessment and accountability system beginning this spring, the foundation remains the same as its predecessors, one of its architects says.

“I think the whole design from the very beginning of looking at education reform in Kentucky was about, ‘Let’s develop well-rounded kids – kids that have exposure to knowledge and experiences that emphasize important things like reading and math, but also have these other key things,” said Rhonda Sims, a director in the Kentucky Department of Education’s Office of Assessment and Accountability.

The new assessment system has many specific similarities to the old system, too, she said. For instance, just as it has for nearly the past decade, the new accountability system will continue to test every student in grades 3-8 in reading and mathematics every year, Sims said.

“Reading and math are foundational skills,” she said. “They are certainly key foundational subjects for work in science, for work in social studies, for overall work on things like ACT, PLAN and EXPLORE.”

Students also will be tested in science and social studies once in elementary school and once in middle school, which meets federal requirements, Sims said. Read the full story

Students at John W. Miles Elementary School (Erlanger-Elsmere Independent) select from fruits and vegetables during lunch April 26, 2010. Eligible elementary schools may receive funding through grants for the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program. File photo by Amy Wallot

Elementary school students can enjoy fresh fruit and vegetables through the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP), a federal program designed to increase 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, approximately 53,083 students can be served through the program. Read the full story

Grant County High School chemistry teacher Bob Anderson gives junior Gary Woods tips on being actively involved while studying during the recovery program at the school Feb. 24, 2011. "The program is helping me get my grades in check and get here on time," Woods said. Photo by Amy Wallot

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

Al Poweleit tries to work with the families in the Grant County school district.

Recently, a kindergarten student at one of the schools had pink eye. School staff called phone numbers on file for the child, but none of them were current. Poweleit then took the child home. The boy’s parents were both home sleeping. They child’s mother told Poweleit they sent the child to school because he already had too many unexcused absences. The mother also informed him they were already scheduled to go to court.

“It’s sad that this child is being set up for failure by the parents,” Poweleit said. “We have to set the tone with the parents when students are younger. The boy depends on his parents, and we don’t want to take the parents to court, but this is what we will do to get that child in school.” Read the full story

Children enjoy an unusually warm day during recess at Carr Creek Elementary School (Knott County) Feb. 17, 2011. The school's FRYSC raised money for the new playground. Photo by Amy Wallot

By Matthew Tungate
matthew.tungate@education.ky.gov

The playground at Carr Creek Elementary School (Knott County) was older than a lot of the students’ parents, having been built in 1972, and it was time to be replaced.

So the school’s Family Resource and Youth Services Center (FRYSC) raised $43,000 in cash and services. The new playground includes swing sets, a basketball court, walking track, outdoor stage area, baseball/t-ball area and play center.

FRYSC Director Debbie Joseph Smith said a coal company donated cash, hauled loads of fill dirt, used its bulldozers for landscaping and seeded the entire area. Volunteers landscaped and painted. Teachers and children spread mulch during recess with the school principal and FRYSC staff. Read the full story

First-grade student Jayce Riley speaks during the Sedalia Elementary School's (Graves County) Blue Ribbon School celebration Jan. 6, 2011. Photo by Amy Wallot

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

Some are singers. Some are sprinters. Some are science experts. All of them are students at Sedalia Elementary School (Graves County), which was named a No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon School award winner.

Sedalia Elementary was one of five Kentucky public schools to earn that distinction for 2010. The other schools and Sedalia Elementary all share several commonalities that teachers and administrators agreed are keys to the schools’ success.

These schools cited community, parental support and teacher collaboration as critical. Teachers accepted nothing short of students’ best efforts, and they reciprocated in kind. Extracurricular and arts activities were varied and vast. Read the full story

James Willoughby helps 8th-grade student Hunter Hackney with an outline about the American Expansion during U.S. History class at Dixon Elementary School (Webster County) Feb. 4, 2011. Photo by Amy Wallot

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

It’s common for people walking by James Willoughby’s 8th-grade social studies classroom at Dixon Elementary School (Webster County) to hear a loud, animated voice.

But anyone who has sat in – or near – his classroom in the K-8 school knows Willoughby is just telling a story that relates to the day’s lesson. Read the full story

Deborah Cathcart works with 5th-grade students Michael Carter, left, Wyatt Gray, center, Davion Radford, right, and Kolby Morris, far right, on identifying and correcting problem areas with their on-demand writing pieces at Lacy Elementary School (Christian County) Feb. 2, 2011. Lacy Elementary is a 2010 Distinguished Title I School. Photo by Amy Wallot

By Matthew Tungate
matthew.tungate@education.ky.gov

Resource teacher Neeley Conrad will tell you that Lacy Elementary School (Christian County) is the kind of place where a 5th grader stands up to a bully by declaring his intelligence. She’ll tell you about a student making the academic team and becoming a leader in spite of the gang influence around him. She will tell you about a boy who stands to lead the devotional at church and prays for the success of his school.

“The pride our students have in themselves is the most important thing at Lacy (Elementary),” she will say.

Conrad, who is in her second year at Lacy Elementary, also will tell you why the students feel that way without even trying. Read the full story

Teresa Brewer jokes with 3rd-grade students about the meanings of peak and peek, suggesting that maybe some of them peek at their Christmas presents, at Campton Elementary School (Wolfe County) Feb. 1, 2011. Photo by Amy Wallot

Teachers talk about what made them want to get into the profession

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

The U.S. Department of Education recently launched the TEACH network, an effort to recruit and usher in the next generation of teachers. TEACH also strives to raise awareness of the teaching profession and enhance the public perception of what it means to be a teacher. The TEACH.gov website has numerous resources for people interested in the teaching profession.

At TEACH.gov, those interested can learn what it’s really like to be a teacher and get the tools needed to launch a career in education.

The website has valuable information on career paths, preparation programs, financial aid incentives, licensing and certifications, job listings, and more.

Three Kentucky public school teachers, Teresa Brewer, Paul Decker and Jordan Black, each knew at different times in their lives they wanted to become teachers. Read the full story

Nominations are now open for the 2012 Kentucky Teacher Awards, sponsored by the Kentucky Department of Education and Ashland Inc.

Nominations may be submitted electronically by visiting the 2012 Kentucky Teacher of the Year Web site. The deadline for nominations is May 15. Read the full story