Kentucky Teacher

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

Gina Benham helps 7th-grade student John Monson with a decimal problem during her mathematics class at Woodland Elementary School (Kenton County).

Woodland Middle School (Kenton County) teacher Gina Benham has taught mathematics for four years, but when it comes to stocks and investing she is just like any one of her 7^th graders.

“I love an opportunity to learn alongside my students,” said Benham, whose class began involvement with a program in October that ties investing to a real-world mathematic curriculum. “Value is added to this experience when the kids realize they are learning something some adults know little about.”

All 7th-grade classrooms at Woodland Middle and Turkey Foot Middle School (Kenton County) have been participating in the “Investing in Students, Making Math Count” initiative. Following the October kickoff, the students played the PortfoliosInvestment Simulation Game with volunteers from Fidelity Investments to get a feel for the game.

The volunteers meet with students at both schools on a monthly basis, using investment and finance as a context to address concepts in the 7th-grade mathematics curriculum, according to Jennifer Barrett, Kenton County school district middle and high school mathematics consultant. 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

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

Kentucky Department of Education program consultant Sharon Johnston anchors a video about Individual Learning Plans. ILPs are an important part of the advising toolkit. Photo by Susan Riddell, Aug. 26, 2011

Betty Lawson, student support specialist at Bondurant Middle School and Western Hills High School (Franklin County), grew up poor in southeastern Kentucky with “an abusive alcoholic” father. When she was 16, her father fired a gun at her, and she was saved only because her mother wrestled him for the gun. The bullet just missed her.

“My eight siblings and I spent some nights sleeping in the woods, in barns and even on neighbors’ porches. I feared for my life daily,” she said. “We went hungry and didn’t have decent clothes to wear, so I have a deep understanding of what some of these students go through.”

When she was in the 3rd grade, Lawson’s teacher called her into the hall.

“I thought I was in trouble, because she was strict. She handed me a brown paper bag and asked me to open it. I pulled the contents out, and it was two of the most beautiful dresses I had ever seen,” Lawson said. “I had never really thought about it before, but I realized that maybe other people saw that I was poor. I wore the dresses until I couldn’t fit into them anymore.” 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

The Prichard Committee presented its highest recognition, its Award of Excellence, to Tim Hanner of the Kenton County school district.

Hanner, 50, retired from the Kenton County schools in June due to medical concerns.

He began serving as superintendent in 2006 and was named the Kentucky Association of School Administrators’ Superintendent of the Year in 2010. Read the full story

Kentucky students were rewarded for their talents in history at the Kentucky Junior Historical Society (KJHS) 2011 Kentucky History Day (KHD) recently in Frankfort.

KHD is part of the National History Day program, which is an annual, year-long program designed to promote teaching and learning history in America’s schools. Students analyze the historical significance of their topics and present conclusions in dramatic performances, imaginative exhibits, multimedia documentaries, websites and research papers to audiences throughout the country. The theme for this year’s contest was “Debate and Diplomacy in History: Successes, Failures and Consequences.” Read the full story

From the Prichard Committee

Training from the Prichard Committee’s Commonwealth Institute for Parent Leadership (CIPL) has turned mechanical engineer Michael Ekbundit into a champion for real-world science in the Bullitt County school district.

Ekbundit had been an occasional guest speaker before going through the institute. This year, however, he is focusing his work and looking to see if his work with 4th-graders will translate into improved test scores. Read the full story

Connie Baynum, right, leads a practice for middle school students from Kenton County before a performance at Dixie Heights High School as part of the ASCENT Arts program Jan. 18, 2011. Photo by Amy Wallot

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

Connie Baynum had a long day ahead of her. She was responsible for making sure that about 75 6th-, 7th- and 8th-graders from four middle schools learned the choreography, song lyrics and speaking parts to a play they were to perform later that night.

A bus was 35 minutes late on a day already crowded with much to do. Instead of crumpling under the stress, Baynum embraced the “show must go on” philosophy like a veteran thespian – which she is.

“In about 10 hours you will grace the stage with a wonderful message,” Baynum told the students. Read the full story

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

Kentucky Department of Education officials are using the Kenton County school district as a model in developing a statewide teacher-evaluation system.

Since the 2009-10 school year, Kenton County has been using a rubric-based performance-evaluation model that teachers, school administrators and district officials collaboratively researched, designed and implemented, according to Michael Dailey, director of the Department of Education’s Division of Next-Generation Professionals and coordinator of the state’s project.

“It has set the standard that all districts, including the state, should follow to make sure that teachers and principals are valued in the process. Their approach kept the focus on the needs of students, teachers and administrators to make sure all of this works together,” Dailey said. “They went down a path that very few across the country have gone.” Read the full story

Two panels of district leaders and educators have begun working with Kentucky Department of Education staff to develop the state’s new teacher and principal evaluation systems.

The 28-member Teacher Effectiveness Steering Committee includes:

• Ann Porter, Mason County Board of Education member
• Kenneth Galloway, superintendent, Graves County school district
• Tim Hanner, superintendent, Kenton County school district
• Dot Perkins, superintendent, Gallatin County school district

Kentucky School Boards Association (KSBA) Executive Director Bill Scott also serves on this panel.

• The 28-member Principal Effectiveness Steering Committee includes:
• Linda Duncan, Jefferson County Board of Education member
• Susan Compton, superintendent, Russell Independent school district
• Andy Dotson, superintendent, Harrison County school district
• Tim Murley, superintendent, Warren County school district

KSBA Associate Executive Director David Baird and Wilson Sears, executive director of the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents, also serve on this committee.