Kentucky Teacher

From Pre-K to On Our Way is a day-long training to promote and support transitions from preschool to public school. The training will be May 31 in Lexington.

This event is for preschool or early care teachers, staff and directors, kindergarten and 1st-grade teachers.

In this workshop, participants will:

• review the research on the impact of preschool and parent involvement on student success
• identify ways to build effective partnerships preschool/kindergarten/home
• recognize the transitions between Kentucky’s early childhood standards and the common core standards
• build parents’ capacities to be positively involved in their schools

Register by sending an e-mail to mtoney@prichardcommittee.org or calling Molly Toney at (859) 230-6222, ext. 226.

Students from Warner Elementary School (Jessamine County) tour the Capitol in Frankfort.
Photo by Amy Wallot, March 7, 2013

By Tracy Goff-Herman
tracy.herman@education.ky.gov

The 2013 legislative session was a so-called short session, lasting only 30 days, but it was packed with action on education bills, many of which support the state’s efforts to ensure all students graduate high school college- and career-ready.

Several of the bills that were passed also were priorities for the Kentucky Board of Education (KBE).

Among those were Senate Bill 97 which, like similar legislation that stalled in previous sessions, raises the compulsory student attendance age from 16 to 18.

The bill, sponsored by state Sen. David Givens, R-Greensburg, allows local school districts to adopt a policy to raise compulsory school age attendance from 16 to 18, beginning with the 2015-16 school year. The policy must apply to all students residing in the district, even if they attend school in another district under a non-resident contract. Additionally, local school boards must certify to the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) that their districts have programs and supports in place to meet the needs of students.

If 55 percent (96 of 174 districts) of all Kentucky public school districts adopt a local policy to raise the compulsory attendance, then a Read the full story

By Tracy Goff-Herman
tracy.herman@education.ky.gov

Meghan Jones, a student at the Barren County Area Technology Center, participated in the Community Service Day held in conjunction with the 2012 Kentucky Leadership and Training Institute. KLTI is held yearly and provides leadership training opportunities for members of SkillsUSA Kentucky, an organization comprised of students enrolled in skills trades programs in technical education centers and high schools throughout Kentucky.
Photo by Tim Thornberry

With the start of the New Year, the beginning of the 2013 Regular Session of the General Assembly is at hand. This is not a budget session, but rather a short, 30-day session that traditionally focuses on policy issues that do not impact the budget.

Still, two fiscal issues are looming that likely will have significant long-term financial implications, state employee pension funds and tax reform. 

The Legislature and Governor established task forces to look at both issues during the interim. Several lawmakers believe that addressing the shortfall in the public employee pension fund will dominate the 2013 session. Final reports from both groups are forthcoming, but some of the possible solutions vetted during meetings of both groups would address the issues of the underfunded pension fund and the lackluster rate of growth in the economy. Among the options discusssed: raising taxes; legalizing gambling; restructuring current taxes; and closing loopholes created by tax expenditures. Read the full story

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) has received several questions about preschool funding and is clarifying that preschool funding was not cut by the General Assembly.

State preschool grant funding for school districts is calculated by the preschool funding formula, which has been in effect for several years under existing law.

702 KAR 3:250, which applies to the two educational programs established in KRS 157.226 and 157.3175 for children below primary school age, articulates the preschool grant allocation process. Under this regulation, which has been in place since 1992, KDE applies a negative adjustment, based on a decrease in enrollment for the current year, to the beginning of the next school year.

For example, a decrease in preschool enrollment in the current year (based on the difference in enrollment between Dec. 1, 2010 and Dec. 1, 2011) would negatively impact preschool grant funding for the next school year, which begins July 1, 2012. Read the full story

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

Christine Gish, with the Daviess County Public Library, reads a book about trains while deaf and hard-of-hearing preschool teacher Laurie VanConia signs for students in Connie Johnson's preschool class at Country Heights Elementary School (Daviess County). Photo by Amy Wallot, May 9, 2012

Once a month during the school year, Connie Johnson’s preschool students at Country Heights Elementary School (Daviess County) get a special visit from community librarian Christine Gish.

Recently, Gish introduced a book, Old Black Fly, by Jim Aylesworth, with a special prop: a giant flyswatter.

“It was about  four times as big as a regular flyswatter,” Johnson said. “She surprised them with it at the end of the book. Throughout the book she would ‘shoo’ the fly on each page, and at the end of the story she brought out the giant flyswatter. (She had it hidden.) and swatted the fly in the book. They were surprised, and they thought this was funny. The children loved it.

“The public library is a great community partner,” Johnson added.

It’s also one of many partners the preschools in the Daviess County school district collaborate with throughout the school year.

“Community partners enable us to bring the community into our classroom,” Johnson said. “This helps our preschoolers and their families become more aware of the resources available in the community.” Read the full story

Susan Meadows sits with Christopher Empson and a small group of students practicing writing and scissor work during her preschool class at Caldwell County Primary School. Photo by Amy Wallot, Nov. 15, 2011

By Tracy Goff-Herman
tracy.herman@education.ky.gov

With the continuing national recession, Kentucky’s revenue situation hasn’t improved. 

As such, the General Assembly’s focus will likely be on maintaining current funding levels, plugging holes and, when possible, restoring funding to pre-recession levels.

In anticipation of the upcoming session, the Kentucky Board of Education (KBE) has finalized its list of budgetary and legislative priorities. The Kentucky Department of Education’s (KDE’s) focus will be on supporting and obtaining adequate funding for these strategic priorities.

There are four foundational items in KDE’s budget request. They are the programmatic policies that will enable the commonwealth’s education system to prepare students to be college- and career-ready. They include:

Funding for school improvement: This $13.3 million request would provide funding to assist non-Title I, low-performing schools. Schools and districts would use the funds to pay for efforts aimed at promoting student academic growth, reducing dropout rates and improving graduation rates.  Read the full story

Angela Domingo, Kennedy Barbiea and Janeie Turner use a Little Tykes Young Explorer computer during Kate Neikirk’s class at Newport Preschool (Newport Independent). The computer was purchased with a grant from the United Way. The preschool acquired one for each of its two classrooms. Photo by Amy Wallot, May 19, 2011

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

When the Newport Independent school district began tracking preschool students in the late 1990s, administrators did so using a simple Excel spreadsheet.

That data proved to be so useful, the district kept it and expanded it. According to Reggie Taylor, district assessment coordinator, that spreadsheet is no longer sufficient.

“At first, it was very archaic… just that Excel spreadsheet. The database really expanded in 2007,” Taylor said. “But the vision for this was a regional initiative from the start. We wanted it to grow.”

Now, Newport Independent has a massive amount of information on its youngest students attending the Newport Preschool Village in an effort to keep them from falling behind on learning. The district compiles this data as part of a partnership called the Newport Early Childhood Initiative. Read the full story

Kentucky’s state-funded pre-K program rates are among the highest in the nation according to a report by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER).

The State of Preschool 2010 assessed state programs against 10 benchmarks for quality. For the first time, Kentucky met nine of the benchmarks, according to the Kentucky state report. The survey also looked at issues such as access and resources.

Kentucky made gains in the number of preschoolers enrolled and overall quality, according to the annual survey. However, the state lost ground in the area of funding. While additional federal and local funds increased overall spending, the state was forced to cut state funding, as were other states.

Despite decreased state financial support, Kentucky fared well overall in the annual survey – one of 12 programs meeting nine of the 10 quality benchmarks. Only five state programs met all 10 quality standards. The quality standards checklist includes benchmarks on early learning standards, teacher preparation, class size and support services among others. Ten states do not provide state-funded preschool education programs.

From the office of Gov. Steve Beshear

The Governor’s Task Force on Transforming Education in Kentucky (TEK) presented Gov. Steve Beshear with its final report, including 35 recommendations that the group believes would enable Kentucky to better prepare all of its students for success in the 21st century, on Feb. 21.

Gov. Beshear directed the task force – composed of parents, teachers, superintendents, education advocates, lawmakers, and business and community leaders – to help develop new strategies to ensure Kentucky has the curriculum, teachers, standards, organization and structure in place to prepare children for the 21st century while reinvigorating public and business support for education. Read the full story

From the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence

Improving early childhood programs is a vital strategy for increasing the numbers of students who finish high school prepared to enter college, the military and the workforce, said Rob Dugger, a Virginia investment executive who chairs the Partnership for America’s Economic Success, a coalition of economists, policy experts and advocates focused on programs for young children.

Dugger recently addressed a statewide meeting of the Business Leadership Council for Pre-K, a group of Kentucky business leaders advocating for making voluntary, high-quality preschool available to all 3- and 4-year-olds in the state. Read the full story