Kentucky Teacher

The Kentucky School Boards Association (KSBA) is seeking a leader who is a creative, strategic thinker with exceptional communication, analytical and entrepreneurial skills.

KSBA is a nonprofit association serving 174 elementary and secondary public boards of education in Kentucky. KSBA’s membership consists of 100 percent of the public boards of education in Kentucky and provides a wide range of programs and services that support the needs of its members. The organization is governed by a 27-member board of directors composed of local school board members from across the Commonwealth.

The executive director’s salary will be commensurate with experience. Required qualifications include a minimum of a master’s degree in education or related field; a minimum of seven years of experience in the management of a school district, education-related agency or a private not-for-profit association; and working knowledge of key issues related to public education, including Kentucky’s new assessment and accountability system (Unbridled Learning). The ideal candidate also shall have Read the full story

Kentucky’s new school and student accountability and assessment system meets the requirements of Senate Bill 1 and the pledges of the state’s waiver from the No Child Left Behind Act. For Kentucky school board members and superintendents, one of those challenges will be explaining the Unbridled Learning system and what the measures of student achievement mean at the local level.

To help school board members, KSBA is devoting the program of this year’s Fall Regional Meetings to this topic. The program will include an examination of:

• school and district measures of achievement, growth, gap, college and career readiness and high school graduation rates
• how those numbers lead to an overall score, resulting in a first-ever set of rankings by the state for every elementary, middle and high school and district
• what parents will see in the new school report cards, which measure each student’s test scores in reading, mathematics, science and language arts skills. Read the full story

The Kentucky School Boards Association (KSBA) is accepting nominations of outstanding education leaders and advocates for recognition during the association’s 77th annual conference Feb. 1-3 in Louisville.

The nominations are being accepted for the following awards:

KSBA Friend of Education Award

This will mark the 24th presentation of the KSBA Friend of Education Award. One award will be presented to an individual, an organization, a business or a corporation in recognition of support for public education in your home community as well as across the state. Board members and superintendents may not be nominated for this recognition. Nominations may come from any district that has not had a nominee selected for the award in 10 years. Selection is by a statewide panel of education leaders. Read the full story

For more than 30 years, the Kentucky School Boards Association (KSBA) has provided Kentucky school boards with a fee-based superintendent search service. Hundreds of boards have utilized the service in that time to find the “right” superintendent.

After three decades, KSBA has added features that recognize the opportunities for doing more online and through electronic forms, and reducing the reliance on a paper-driven process. These new options are designed to enhance this program.

As of now, all new superintendent searches conducted by KSBA will include these elements:

• The application process is totally electronic, allowing the applicant to enter the KSBA website and securely complete all forms, answer questions and provide requested data.
• The new application process eliminates multiple paper copies when applying for one or several superintendent vacancies, thus greatly reducing paperwork for the applicant and the district. Read the full story

As part of an effort to support public school districts in leading student achievement, the Kentucky School Boards Association (KSBA) plans to recognize board governance teams (board members and superintendents) with Advancing Student Achievement to Proficiency (ASAP) recognitions at the 2013 annual conference in Louisville for their focus on preparing college- and career-ready students.

KSBA is requesting that each board team begin tracking its actions that qualify for this recognition. Click here and open the attachment to begin marking the statements that represent actions the team has taken during the past school year. Return this survey, along with the designated materials, to KSBA at 260 Democrat Drive, Frankfort KY 40602 or fax at (502) 695-5451.

Please note that this year’s deadline for submissions is Dec. 14. After that date, it may not be possible to list your district in the annual conference program.

Board teams marking any of the 10 standards also will be recognized at the conference. Read the full story

The Kentucky School Boards Association’s (KSBA) will host its annual Federal & State Law Update: Impact on Your School District Conference May 10-11 at the Marriott Griffin Gate Resort in Lexington.

The conference will provide school boards and districts information they need to appropriately implement legal and policy changes within their districts for next school year. In order to address liability concerns from situations around the country, other topics to be presented include: volunteer issues; financial pitfalls; child abuse reporting, and a restraint/seclusion update.

KSBA’s Policy Service also will present a look at the policy and procedure changes recommended for districts based on legal developments that have occurred during the past year.

Conference participants will hear from experienced school law attorneys, school district policy consultants, KSBA’s legislative team, current and former superintendents and principals, and the Cabinet for Families and Children. It is important that school district administrators keep abreast of changes in the law in order to protect themselves and school districts from liability.

Registration is available on the KSBA website. Or, contact Jolene Shearer by phone at 502-783-0060 or by e-mail at jolene.shearer@ksba.org

The Kentucky School Boards Association (KSBA) is asking school districts and communities to thank and recognize the state’s 872 local board of education members during the January observance of School Board Recognition Month.

“The month of January has become a time for Kentuckians –and, in fact, for people in many other states — to offer their ‘thank yous’ to the men and women who serve on our local boards of education,” said KSBA President and Lincoln County board member Tom Blankenship. “Allow me to add my own nod of appreciation to the 871 other local board members in Kentucky’s 174 school districts. Your work on behalf of your children, your staff and your community deserves a year-round salute, because those labors represent 12 months of study, choices and decisions.”

Education Commissioner Terry Holliday also saluted board members for their service to children and their communities.

“Leaders make a difference, and school board members make a real difference with their long-term policy implications for education,” Holliday said in a video interview posted to the KSBA website. “The local school board is so important because it represents the voice and the political will of the community.

“It’s critical for the school board members to be the eyes and ears of the community,” Holliday said. “The school board sets the vision for the future of the system. Their second most important job is to hire a superintendent to implement that vision through their policies.”

Kentucky and Kentucky School Boards Association (KSBA) again will join many other states and school boards associations in observing January 2012 as School Board Recognition Month.

A packet of sample public information items about the observation will be e-mailed by KSBA to all superintendents and members of the Kentucky School Public Relations Association around Dec. 19.

The articles also will be made available on the association’s website on a page that will be shared with districts.

An addition to this year’s materials will be a video interview with Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday with his thoughts about the value and importance of local school board service. The video will be available on the homepage of the KSBA website around Jan. 1.

KSBA also will provide board members and superintendents with its traditional token of appreciation by mailing each a copy of a 2012 calendar featuring important dates and deadlines for school leaders, information about KSBA services and events, and photos of students at work and play across the state. Look for that mailing in late December.

As a result of elections at this year’s Kentucky School Boards Association (KSBA) fall regional meetings, two local board members will complete unexpired terms and four new regional directors have begun their terms on the association’s board of directors.

At the six regions’ elections this year, participating board members elected included:

• Gene Allen (East Bernstadt Independent) as the new regional director for the Upper Cumberland Region
• Frank McGuire(Pike County) as the new regional director of the Eastern Kentucky South Region
• E. Carolyn Tucker as the new regional director for the Second Region
• Jo Annette Sabol (West Point Independent) as the new regional director of the Fourth Region
• Becky Burgett (Gallatin County) to complete the term as regional director for the Northern Kentucky Region
• Michael Turner (Casey County) to complete the term as regional director for the Middle Cumberland Region Read the full story

Do you understand how you get immunity if you are sued by a student due to a disciplinary action?

Do you understand the latest rules regarding discipline of public school students? 

It is crucial for local school officials to stay abreast of current Kentucky and federal law and district policy in this area to have legal protection should a student challenge your actions. To that end, the Kentucky School Boards Association’s annual Student Discipline Conference has a strong lineup of topics and presenters to prepare school personnel for common – and uncommon – student disciplinary issues.

This year’s conference is Oct. 27 at the Clarion Hotel on Newtown Pike in Lexington. Registration is $200 per person. Read the full story