Kentucky Teacher

Freshmen Abby Wilson, Marissia Roark and Caitlin Hatfield have lunch together at Russell County High School. The school has been using the Gallup Poll student survey to find out how students feel about the school and to improve student engagement. Photo by Amy Wallot, Jan. 14, 2013

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

It is not out of the norm for Kentucky school districts to poll teachers and administrators on issues facing their schools, according to Darren Gossage, director of college and career readiness for the Russell County school district.

Those polls, however, don’t capture another important voice in their schools – the individuals being taught.

“We wanted to give our students a voice, too” said Gossage, who served as principal of Russell County High School for 10 years prior to taking a job in the district’s central office.

Now, Russell County Schools and many other schools across the state are giving voice to their students with the Gallup Student Poll.

“One of the biggest reasons to use the survey is because it helps school leaders understand what key members, the students, are feeling about the school/district,” said Jeff Coots, information officer for Jackson Independent school district. “The information collected by the survey is designed to support a dialogue among teachers and other staff members of the school about how to make the school a better place for our students to achieve academically.” 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

Fifty-four Kentucky school districts will participate in a field test of the proposed Teacher and Principal Professional Growth and Effectiveness System this school year.
The proposed system will help define expectations of what it means to be an effective teacher and leader, and provide support, assistance and resources to help all educators reach that goal.
During the 2010-11 school year, 23 districts began work on the system’s development, with an additionally 31 districts brought on this school year to take part in the field-testing phase.
The original 23 school districts included: Anderson County, Bullitt County, Caldwell County, Carlisle County, Carter County, Corbin Independent, Covington Independent, Frankfort Independent, Fleming County, Gallatin County, Garrard County, Graves County, Greenup County, Henderson County, Jenkins Independent, Jessamine County, Kenton County, Lee County, Marion County, Marshall County, Magoffin County, Simpson County and Washington County. Read the full story

Kentucky’s Unbridled Learning initiative is focused on four strategic priorities – Next-Generation Learners, Next-Generation Instructional Programs and Support, Next-Generation Professionals, and Next-Generation Schools and Districts. The goal for Next-Generation Professionals is to have every student taught by an effective teacher and every school led by an effective leader.

As a part of the work in this area, Education Commissioner Terry Holliday has convened two committees – a Teacher Effectiveness Steering Committee and a Principal Effectiveness Steering Committee to advise him in developing a Teacher and Principal Professional Growth and Evaluation System. Many educators and stakeholders have dedicated this past year to developing this system, designing a comprehensive program to provide formative and summative feedback to teachers and principals utilizing multiple measures of effectiveness.

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) is offering school districts the opportunity to participate in the second phase of this work through a field-testing process. KDE plans to select 25 additional districts to be involved in the work that will begin in the fall of 2011, for a total of 50 participating districts. KDE will develop criteria to ensure the spectrum of districts volunteering reflect the diversity of the state (e.g., rural, urban, high- and low-poverty, and high- and low-performing). The application window will be open through July 25.

Superintendents who would like to apply to participate in this 2011-12 field test of the professional growth and evaluation system are encouraged to do so.

To apply for this opportunity, click on the following link, Professional Growth and Evaluation System Application. For more information, contact Michael Dailey, director of the Division of Next Generation Professionals, at (502) 564-1479.