Kentucky Teacher

Local, state and federal education leaders from across the country will be in Boston April 20-23 for the 2012 National School Boards Association conference. These participants will get multiple opportunities to gain insights from Kentuckians at the conference.

NSBA recently announced the selection of 166 workshop presentations from 400 submissions. A total of 10 Kentucky proposals were chosen for featured clinics at the 2012 event. Only California, Illinois and Texas will have more workshops on the conference calendar. Read the full story

The Kentucky School Boards Association (KSBA) is accepting nominations for local board members interested in running for a seat on the association’s 27-member board of directors.

Five director-at-large seats will be filled by election during the business session of the 2012 KSBA Annual Conference, Feb. 4.

The five positions currently are held by the following people, all of whom are eligible to seek either re-election or election (for appointees filling vacancies):

• Linda Duncan, Jefferson County
• Eugene Peel, Jessamine County
• Jeff Eaton, Allen County
• Catina Hasty, Rockcastle County
• Eddie Cornett, Paintsville Independent

The seats held by Duncan, Peel, Eaton and Hasty are for three-year terms, while Cornett’s seat will be filled for the final year of the unexpired term.

In keeping with the association’s bylaws, any Kentucky school board member can place his or her name before the committee by completing and submitting the attached form by Sept. 23. Nomination forms may be sent by mail, fax or e-mail per the instructions on the form.

A nominating committee appointed by President Tom Blankenship of Lincoln County and chaired by Immediate Past President Delmar Mahan of Whitley County will report back to the membership with its recommendations in November.

For more information about the nominating process or about service on the board of directors, contact Bill Scott, Kathy Amburgey or Brad Hughes toll-free at (800) 372-2962.

From KSBA Executive Director Bill Scott

As Kentucky implements Senate Bill 1, the most comprehensive reforms since the passage of KERA (Kentucky Education Reform Act), board teams will be challenged to fully comprehend their specific roles and responsibilities related to the new standards, assessments and accountability system. KSBA is acutely aware of these pressures as district personnel translate the Commonwealth Commitment to College and/or Career Readiness into the reality of local teaching and learning.

KSBA has created a series of board team professional development workshops designed to assist members in this area. Because research indicates that the most effective district leaders learn together as board/superintendent teams, these trainings are designed to be provided on site by a KSBA trainer.

• All Students College and Career Ready – This two-hour session is designed to help boards better understand the purpose of Senate Bill 1 as it relates to college and career readiness for all students. Board teams will review the requirements of the law and receive the most current information related to the new standards, testing measures and district strategies related to this goal. All components of the law are discussed within the context of the specific roles and responsibilities of the local board.
• Shaping Our Future: A School Board’s Guide to the TELL Kentucky Working Conditions Survey – This 90- minute session was designed by KSBA and the New Teacher Center, the consulting group that created and managed the TELL Kentucky survey. Board teams will gain a better understanding of their districts’ results as well as how these results can be used to improve conditions for their staff. Discussions will focus on how the five leadership roles of effective school boards can be utilized to translate survey results into improved working conditions for district staff.

As the Kentucky Board of Education and Department of Education implement additional aspects of this agenda, KSBA will develop more training modules. For more information or to schedule one of the above sessions for your board, contact Kerri Schelling, KSBA director of Board Team Development, at (800) 372-2962.

The Kentucky School Boards Association’s (KSBA’s) major summer training event, the Summer Leadership Institute (SLI) will be July 8-9 in Lexington.

This event will continue the association’s emphasis on implementation of the state’s new school assessment and accountability system and other changes in the state’s public education system required under Senate Bill 1. Read the full story

Rockcastle County school district Superintendent Larry Hammond received the 2011 F.I. Dupree Outstanding Superintendent Award, presented by the Kentucky School Boards Association. Hammond has served as district superintendent for 16 years. Photo by Amy Wallot; May 2011

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

When Larry Hammond was a young student in the Rockcastle County school district, his school had roughly 30 students, one room and one teacher – his mother.

Hammond spent grades 1-8 in that one-room school. He said this “wonderful” experience not only paved the way for his educational career, it later helped define his teaching and administrative career as well. Read the full story

Gov. Steve Beshear has appointed Kentucky School Boards Association (KSBA) Associate Executive Director David Baird to the eight-member Kentucky School Facilities Construction Commission (SFCC). Baird’s appointment was one of several education-related actions recently made by the governor.

The SFCC, part of the state Finance and Administration Cabinet, assists school districts with school facility construction and technology funding. It distributes state funds to eligible districts certified by the Kentucky Board of Education. The commission issues bonds in its name and enters lease agreements with local boards of education to finance construction of new facilities and major renovation of existing facilities. It is responsible for allocating General Assembly appropriations for the financing of construction and implementation of technology on a timely and objective basis. Read the full story

Effort boosts mathematics skills, discipline through piano lessons
From KSBA

A musical link between mathematics skills and overall student performance in the Letcher County school district has been selected for the Kentucky School Boards Association’s (KSBA) highest academic honor, the Public Education Achieves in Kentucky (PEAK) Award.

In the first 18 months of the piano program at its seven elementary schools, the district has seen an improvement in 3rd- and 4th-grade mathematics scores, discipline and attendance. Read the full story

The recently updated Kentucky School Boards Association (KSBA) School Board Leadership Guide is available as an online resource for Kentucky’s 800-plus local board of education members.

The new guide was provided in the packets of all attendees at this year’s KSBA annual conference. A hard copy also is sent to each newly-appointed board member. Additional print copies are available for districts for $10 each.

But the online version has everything school board members will need at their fingertips in a searchable PDF format. Members can access the online guide here.

For more information, contact Kerri Schelling or Tammie Conatser toll-free at (800) 372-2962.

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) will provide tools to analyze resource decisions to improve school districts’ operational processes and free resources to invest in the work of Senate Bill 1 through the Performance Excellence Connection Project.

The “Kentucky Best Practices” website is a component of the project, and it will enable school districts to share solutions to common operational issues. Best practices and promising approaches may be submitted by superintendents, principals, finance officers, directors of pupil personnel, district assessment coordinators and others in management roles. Read the full story

By Shannon Stiglitz,
Director, KSBA Governmental Relations Service

The relationship between school districts and local health departments will not change if the state switches to a managed-care system to administer Medicaid services, based on terms outlined in a request for proposals for managed-care organizations.

To provide school-based health services, many school districts contract with local health departments to provide Individual Education Plan (IEP)-related and non-IEP related services. These services are critical to ensure a high-quality education for Kentucky’s students. Read the full story