Kentucky Teacher

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

KSTC president Joanne Lang and NMSI Regional Director Dale Fleury announce the newest schools to be added to the AdvanceKentucky program during the Kentucky Board of Education meeting. Photo by Amy Wallot, April 4, 2012

Schools where teachers believe they have community support and involvement and student conduct is well-managed do better in reading and mathematics achievement, according to the final report from the TELL Kentucky survey.

More than 42,000 educators across the commonwealth filled out the anonymous online questionnaire regarding working conditions as part of the Teaching, Educating, Leading and Learning (TELL) Kentucky survey, which was administered to all public school teachers and principals in March 2011. Questions on the survey pertained to time; facilities and resources; community support and involvement; managing student conduct; teacher leadership; school leadership; professional development; instructional practices and support; and new teacher support.

Ann Maddox of the New Teacher Center provided the Kentucky Board of Education with copies and a presentation of the report at the board’s April 4 meeting. Maddox said the final report includes results connecting student academic data to survey results, as well as breaking out opinions of principals and new teachers. Read the full story

The Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program (CSPAP) is one of the emerging concepts for increasing physical activity/physical education in schools via a Coordinated School Health (CSH) approach. It is specifically included in the Practical Living/Career Studies (PLCS) Program Review.

This opportunity from the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) will help school district officials gauge their students’ physical education/activity.

The “Let’s Move in School” Superintendents and School Boards Toolkit is designed to assess the level of physical education/activity currently provided by a school district. Superintendents and school board members are encouraged to use the toolkit to create awareness of the benefits of a comprehensive school physical activity program and offers steps to increase physical education/activity in your district.

For more information, contact KDE’s CSH Project Director Jamie Sparks at jamie.sparks@education.ky.gov.

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) will hold Program Review Technical Assistance trainings Feb. 14-17 from 9 a.m. to noon on the following dates and at the designated locations:

• Feb. 14 – Barren River State Resort Park and NorthEast Christian Church, Lexington
• Feb. 15 – Bruce Convention Center, Hopkinsville and Corbin Center for Technology and Activities, Corbin
• Feb. 16 – METS Center, Erlanger and E. P. Tom Sawyer State Park, Louisville
• Feb.17 – Hazard Community College and KEDC Conference Center, Ashland

Principals are encouraged to participate in these trainings to learn more about the program reviews.

To register, click here.

For more information, contact Rae McEntyre at (502) 564-2106.

Editor’s note: Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), enacted in the 2009 Kentucky General Assembly, requires a new public school assessment program beginning in the 2011-2012 school year. Kentucky Teacher is doing a series of stories explaining the Unbridled Learning: College/Career Readiness for All assessment and accountability system this month. This article focuses on elementary school assessment. Future stories will focus on middle school assessment, high school assessment and accountability. The system is subject to U.S. Department of Education approval and may be changed prior to adoption.

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

Cavin Wallace answers questions about prepositions in Heather Brumley's 5th-grade class at Taylor Elementary School (Bracken County). Photo by Amy Wallot, Dec. 6, 2011

Despite significant changes to Kentucky’s public school assessment and accountability system beginning this spring, the foundation remains the same as its predecessors, one of its architects says.

“I think the whole design from the very beginning of looking at education reform in Kentucky was about, ‘Let’s develop well-rounded kids – kids that have exposure to knowledge and experiences that emphasize important things like reading and math, but also have these other key things,” said Rhonda Sims, a director in the Kentucky Department of Education’s Office of Assessment and Accountability.

The new assessment system has many specific similarities to the old system, too, she said. For instance, just as it has for nearly the past decade, the new accountability system will continue to test every student in grades 3-8 in reading and mathematics every year, Sims said.

“Reading and math are foundational skills,” she said. “They are certainly key foundational subjects for work in science, for work in social studies, for overall work on things like ACT, PLAN and EXPLORE.”

Students also will be tested in science and social studies once in elementary school and once in middle school, which meets federal requirements, Sims said. Read the full story

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

Associate Commissioners Ken Draut, Dewey Hensley and Felicia Cumings-Smith speak to the Kentucky Board of Education regarding the new assessment and accountability system. Photo by Amy Wallot, Dec. 7, 2011

If approved by the U.S. Department of Education, Kentucky schools and districts will have an annual improvement goal under a revised version of the state’s Unbridled Learning assessment and accountability system.

Under previous versions of the plan, schools would have received a score and been placed in one of three categories: needs improvement, proficient or distinguished. But they would not have had an annual improvement goal for accountability. However, waiver guidelines from federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act regulations requires the state enact annual measurable objectives (AMOs) for schools and districts.

Staff from the Kentucky Department of Education briefed the Kentucky Board of Education on the requirements of the waiver during the board’s Dec. 7 meeting.

In addition to AMOs, other changes caused by the waiver include new designations for schools and districts based on how they perform under the requirements of Unbridled Learning; inclusion of student growth as a component of the state’s teacher and principal evaluation system; and removing specific accommodations for students with special needs previously allowed during testing of reading and mathematics.

The new accountability model includes student data from testing, gap, growth, college/career readiness and graduation rate (Next-Generation Learners); principal and teacher effectiveness (Next-Generation Professionals); and Program Reviews (Next-Generation Instructional Programs and Support). Scores from each of the three areas ultimately will be totaled for an overall score. Read the full story

Berea Tourism and Berea Studio Artists are inviting teachers to attend “Make It, Take It, Give It: The Twelve Days of Christmas” professional development (PD).

The training is being offered Dec. 1-12. It provides  a fun, hands-on approach to Program Review, and clear strategies for integrating the arts across the curriculum.

One of the educator-only sessions is Studio Pottery for Educators (maximum eight participants). No experience is necessary. Click here to register specifically for this class.

For more information, contact Judy Sizemore at (606) 364-5831.

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

Fourth-grade students Karli Madden and Lisa DeSautel create African masks during George McKee's art class at E.P. Ward Elementary School (Fleming County). E.P. Ward Elementary is one of 48 schools from 34 districts that piloted Program Reviews in writing, arts and humanities, and practical living/career studies last year. Photo by Amy Wallot, May 28, 2010

Program Reviews in arts and humanities, practical living/career studies, and writing are being implemented in every public school in Kentucky this year. Rather than testing students to see what they have learned, a school gathers evidence about how it integrates the subjects across its curricula and whether the school provides students with high-quality learning opportunities. The school then uses that information to improve its programs.

As school starts, Kentucky Teacher asked Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) staff to answer questions teachers may have as they begin participating in Program Reviews. Members of the Program Review team are: Rae McEntyre, Rebecca Woosley, Stephanie Bunge, Jamie Sparks, Leslie Slaughter, Matt Chaliff and Robert Duncan.

What are Program Reviews?

A Program Review is a systematic method that schools use to analyze components of their instructional programs. The components that schools will look at are curriculum and instruction, formative and summative assessments, professional development, and leadership support and monitoring.

Read the full story

Kentucky Board of Education members Roger Marcum and Brigitte Ramsey discuss the Commonwealth Diploma during the Kentucky Board of Education meeting in Frankfort. Marcum was named the board’s vice-chair during the meeting. David Karem remained chair. Photo by Amy Wallot, Aug. 3, 2011

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

The structure of Kentucky’s accountability system is complete and has a name – Unbridled Learning: College and Career Ready for All – just in time for the beginning of a new school year.

The Kentucky Board of Education (KBE) approved regulations during its Aug. 3-4 meeting that establish which Program Reviews schools are responsible for and when those Program Reviews will be included in accountability. The board also settled on what percentage each area in the three-pronged accountability system will count, as well as the rewards, supports and consequences for schools’ and districts’ results.

Read the full story

Nami Stager, science and writing teacher at Northern Elementary School (Fayette County), is kissed by her dad C.J. Shukla after being recognized by the Kentucky Board of Education for being named a 2010 Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award recipient. Also pictured are her grandmother, Jayaben Shukla, left; her husband, Robert Stager; and her mother, Hema Shukla.
Photo by Amy Wallot, June 8, 2011

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

Program Reviews will not be counted as part of Kentucky’s accountability system next school year, although schools will still implement them, under a plan presented to the Kentucky Board of Education at its June 8 meeting.

Program Reviews have been piloted in three areas: arts and humanities, practical living and career studies, and writing. Rather than testing students to see what they have learned, a school gathers evidence about how it integrates the subjects across its curricula and whether the school provides students with high-quality learning opportunities. The school then uses that information to improve its programs.

Program Reviews will be included in the 2011-12 accountability system through field testing and public reporting of results. Full accountability for Program Reviews will begin in the 2012-13 school year. During a work session before the board meeting, Commissioner Terry Holliday said schools will implement Program Reviews in the upcoming school year to get a baseline measure of where they stand.

Read the full story