Kentucky Teacher

Karen Kidwell, left, director of Program Standards for the Kentucky Department of Education, and Office of Next-Generation Learners Associate Commissioner Felicia Cumings Smith address the Kentucky Board of Education regarding the new science standards. 
Photo by Amy Wallot, April 10, 2013

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

The Kentucky Board of Education reviewed  at its meeting last week  proposed  Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) one day after they were released.

Kentucky was one of 26 states that partnered in developing the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) as part of a collaborative state-led process. About 40 Kentuckians, including P-12 science teachers, state science and policy staff, higher education faculty, scientists and engineers were involved. Two drafts of the standards were released for public comment.

Karen Kidwell, director of the Kentucky Department of Education’s Division of Program Standards, said the Kentucky team gave detailed and descriptive feedback on the early drafts.

“Our feedback was very well received, and much of our feedback was incorporated in the standards,” she said.

The new standards, which have been in development for two years, meet the mandate for new standards in Senate Bill 1 (2009). They are internationally benchmarked, rigorous, research-based and aligned with expectations for college and careers; and they provide for deeper understanding of content and application. Read the full story

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

Gov. Steve Beshear recently appointed two new members to the Kentucky Board of Education.

They include:

• Trevor R. Bonnstetter, of Mayfield, is CEO at West Kentucky Rural Telephone. He represents members at large. The appointment replaces Dorothy Z. Combs, whose term has expired. Bonnstetter shall serve for a term expiring April 14, 2016.

• Grayson R. Boyd, of Williamsport, is a retired educator. He represents the 7th Supreme Court District. The appointment replaces Martha M. Jones, who resigned. Boyd shall serve for the remainder of the unexpired term ending April 14, 2014.

Gov. Beshear also made an appointment to the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education. Joe E. Ellis, an optometrist from Benton, will replace Lisa Osbourne, whose term expired. The governor also reappointed Pam Miller to the council. Miller, a former Lexington mayor, will serve on the council through Dec. 31, 2018.

Associate Commissioner Hiren Desai and Associate Commissioner Susan Allred speak with the Kentucky Board of Education about Breathitt County public schools, which are under state management. Photo by Amy Wallot, Feb. 6, 2013

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

Eighteen of the 41 schools receiving state support based on low achievement on state achievement tests over the last three years have made acceptable progress, according to a report presented to the Kentucky Board of Education last week.

Associate Commissioner Susan Allred discussed the report and the schools, called Priority Schools, with the board during the meeting.

Three factors, Allred said, seem to have the greatest effect on whether Priority Schools improve. The first factor is whether a school’s staff was willing to accept assistance. The second is how quickly the state’s three-person education recovery team can become effective in helping implement changes in the school. The third, she said, is “how long it takes for the adults to get over themselves and realize it is about kids.” Read the full story

At its meeting Wednesday, the Kentucky Board of Education received a progress report on the state’s lowest performing schools. The 41 priority schools are receiving state support to improve curriculum, instruction and assessment, and school governance. According to the report, data on turnaround indicators show about 40 percent of the schools have made acceptable progress and the rest have not.

Associate Commissioner Susan Allred told the board there are a number of factors that impact how quickly a school improves including whether it embraces or resists state help and whether the adults are focused on what’s best for children. Allred said much of the federal funding that has supported individual school improvement efforts over the past few years will run out after this year but she said a regional network of support is being created to help the priority schools continue improvement.

In other business, the board approved a series of recommendations on middle school athletics from the Kentucky High School Athletics Association (KHSAA) in response to a report by the Task Force on Middle School Interscholastic Athletics. The board also reviewed proposed amendments to regulation (702 KAR 7:065) to implement steps in middle school athletics deemed to be health- and safety-related including coaches requirements, medical training and policies, limits on games and competitions and the requirement for sports physicals. Read the full story

Elaine Farris is presented the Johnnie Grissom Award during the Kentucky Board of Education meeting in Frankfort, Ky.
Photo by Amy Wallot, Dec. 3, 2012

Clark County Superintendent Elaine Farris, Ed.D., received the fourth annual Dr. Johnnie Grissom Award (Strive for Achievement Through Instructional Equity) from the Kentucky Board of Education at its meeting Thursday.

Farris was nominated by Faith Thompson, Donald Stump and Brenda Considine, all of whom are administrators in the Clark County school system.

“Not only does she represent the epitome of dedication and passion for achieving instructional equity and opportunity in education, but also, perhaps most importantly, her leadership has achieved significant results,” the three noted in their nomination letter.

Farris has more than 30 years of educational experience, serving as superintendent in both the Shelby County and Clark County school districts. She was the first African American to hold the position of superintendent in a Kentucky school district. Farris also has been a principal and teacher. She served as interim Kentucky commissioner of education in 2009. Read the full story

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

Commissioner of Education Terry Holliday and KBE chairman David Karem at the Kentucky Board of Education meeting in Frankfort, Ky. Photo by Susan Riddell, Oct. 9, 2012

The Kentucky Board of Education is moving ahead with a regulation on the seclusion and restraint of students, but only after clarifying and amending several sections that raised concerns among education stakeholders.

However, another proposed regulation, which would limit the help special education students could receive on state mathematics and reading fluency assessments, has been delayed to give Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) staff time to revise it.

KDE General Counsel Kevin Brown updated the board on both proposed regulations at its October meeting.

He said the seclusion and restraint regulation still requires all Kentucky teachers receive annual training on how to reduce the need for physical restraints or seclusion. It also prohibits the use of restraint and seclusion for reasons such as punishment or to prevent property damage and includes requirements for notifying parents when restraint and seclusion are used.

The changes clarify when teachers may restrain a student and remove some reporting requirements that many districts found burdensome. Read the full story

Gregory Ross and Kern Alexander received the Dr. Samuel Robinson Award during the Kentucky Board of Education meeting. Photo by Susan Riddell, Oct. 9, 2012

At its meeting in Frankfort Monday, the Kentucky Board of Education presented the annual Dr. Samuel Robinson Award to Gregory Ross, Ed.D., principal of McNabb Elementary in the Paducah Independent school district, and Kern Alexander, Ed.D., excellence professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and former president of Murray State University and Western Kentucky University.

Since 2004, the Dr. Samuel Robinson Award has been conferred on an individual or groups in Kentucky for outstanding leadership, commitment and service in promoting equity and opportunity to learn at high levels for all Kentucky students. Robinson was a member of the Kentucky Board of Education for many years in the 1990s and 2000s.

Ross was nominated by Julie Gargus, a teacher at McNabb Elementary, who said he embodied the best qualities of teaching.

“He is a teacher in every aspect of the word,” Gargus said. “Although he has done many things, ranging from international athletics to directing group homes, the portion of his career he has found most rewarding is being an educator.” 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

Nawanna Privett is sworn in by Judge Phillip Shepherd as a member of the Kentucky Board of Education during their meeting in Frankfort, Ky. Photo by Amy Wallot, June 6, 2012

Last week, Kentucky Teacher introduced newly-appointed Kentucky Board of Education member Leonel (Leo) Calderón.

This week, we turn out attention to the second board appointment made by Gov. Steve Beshear this summer, Nawanna Privett – a 42-year educator from Lexington who represents Supreme Court District 5 on the board.

Nawanna Barton Privett is facilitator for the Kentucky Education Action Team after retiring as a teacher, principal (including Southern Elementary, a National Blue Ribbon School) and central office director in the Fayette County school district. She served as an early Kentucky Department of Education distinguished educator, director of the Collaborative Center for Literacy Development and first state director of the Kentucky Leadership Academy and CEO Superintendents Network.

A native of Cumberland, Ky., Privett earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees and Rank I in administration from the University of Kentucky. Currently, she is co-chair of UK Women & Philanthropy, elder at Maxwell Street Presbyterian Church and member of the UK College of Education Board of Advocates, the Partnership for Successful Schools Board and Women Leading Kentucky Board of Directors. Privett and her husband, Dr. George Privett, have five children and two grandchildren. Read the full story