Kentucky Teacher

Kentucky, 24 other states and the District of Columbia will share nearly $220 million in School Improvement Grant (SIG) funding provided by the U.S. Department of Education.

SIG funds provide grants to state educational agencies that are used to assist school districts as they work to raise student achievement in persistently low-achieving (PLA) schools, now designated as Priority Schools through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act/No Child Left Behind Act (ESEA/NCLB) waiver that Kentucky received in February.

For this round of funding, Kentucky will receive $8,437,046, which is continuation funding that will be allocated to those schools previously identified as being in Cohort 2 of the SIG process. The Kentucky Department of Education has asked for funding for the most-recently identified 19 Priority Schools (formerly the Cohort 3 designation) through the state budget process.

Those schools that will receive this continuation funding are listed below: Read the full story

The U.S. Department of Education is now offering selected states the opportunity to request two additional waivers from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act/No Child Left Behind Act (ESEA/NCLB).

This opportunity is provided to states that already have received waivers from ESEA/NCLB. In February, Kentucky was granted a waiver that provided flexibility in many areas related to public school assessment and accountability.

These additional waivers were not included in the original waiver package, but were recognized by the U.S. Department of Education (USED) as necessary to complete the flexibility package. Two additional waivers are offered, and Kentucky will apply for both.

• Waiver of the requirements that state education agencies (SEAs) and local education agencies (LEAs, or school districts) make AYP determinations — Performance toward annual measureable objectives (AMOs, or goals) for all student subgroups must still be reported, and that performance must support continuous improvement in Title I schools that are not Reward Schools, Priority Schools or Focus Schools. This waiver will reinforce Kentucky’s use of the Unbridled Learning: College/Career Readiness for All accountability system to measure progress, rather than the NCLB model. Read the full story

The U.S. Department of Education has asked Westat to conduct national focus groups to inform the planning of two national meetings on College and Career Ready Standards and Educator Evaluation Systems that will be held in March 2012.

Three states – Florida, Idaho and Kentucky — have been selected to conduct the focus groups. The findings from the qualitative data collected from the focus groups will be used to better inform the planning of the national meetings in March.

Westat will conduct interviews with three panel groups representing district administration, school-building administrators and teachers from the Bullitt, Jessamine and Magoffin County school districts. Group discussions with Westat have been scheduled for Friday, February 17 at KDE. Representatives from the Division of Next-Generation Professionals and Division of Program Standards will represent Kentucky at the national panel discussion in Washington, D.C.

The U.S. Department of Education (USED) announced today that Kentucky’s application for flexibility under federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act/No Child Left Behind (ESEA/NCLB) has been approved.

The application and related appendices may be seen on KDE’s Unbridled Learning page, here.

“Kentucky is once again leading the nation in the area of public school accountability,” said Gov. Steve Beshear. “This federal flexibility opens a new chapter in the Commonwealth’s work to ensure a well-educated citizenry. I congratulate our teachers, administrators, state agency staff, Kentucky Board of Education members, legislators and education partners on this great accomplishment.”

“The granting of this request means that Kentucky can continue the forward momentum that began with the passage of Senate Bill 1 in 2009,” said Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday. “The accountability model that we will use for state and federal purposes provides in-depth information about every school and district, so that we can focus our resources on the areas of greatest need and challenge our students and educators to constantly improve toward the ultimate goal of college and career readiness.” Read the full story

The U.S. Department of Education announced last week that Kentucky will receive a Race to the Top grant of $17 million to advance targeted K-12 reforms aimed at improving student achievement.

Kentucky and six other states — Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, New Jersey and Pennsylvania — will each receive a share of the $200 million in Race to the Top Round 3 (RTT3) fund.

“While the grant amount is significantly less than the original $175 million request, we are very excited about being able to gain funds to implement Senate Bill 1 initiatives and expand AdvanceKentucky sites,” said Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday. “Within the budget of $17 million, we will use state and district allocations to implement professional development and resources for Senate Bill 1.”

Senate Bill 1, passed in the 2009 session of the General Assembly, calls for a new assessment and accountability system for the state’s public schools, along with more rigorous academic standards, intensive teacher and administrator training, and strengthened collaboration among higher education, teacher/administrator certification and P-12 education sectors. Read the full story

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) is celebrating the 12th Annual International Education Week, Nov. 14-18.

This week is a joint celebration of the U. S. Departments of Education and State and the Commonwealth of Kentucky. This year’s theme is International Education: Inspiring Students Locally to Succeed Globally. KDE encourages schools and districts to promote international education this week in particular as well as throughout the school year.

As the world becomes increasingly interdependent, schools must provide all students with an outstanding education that includes global competencies. These competencies include the understanding of other cultures, histories, languages and values. Read the full story

Kentucky, along with other states, has called for greater flexibility in implementing the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, and the U.S. Department of Education (USED) has responded.

USED announced recently that President Barack Obama has approved the development of a waiver request process to enable states to ask for flexibility in implementing the requirements of NCLB during the 2011-12 school year.

Read the full story

In its transition to a public school graduation rate formula that is mandated by the U.S. Department of Education (USED), Kentucky is reporting Averaged Freshman Graduation Rates (AFGR) for the first time this year.

The state will use the AFGR for the next three years to provide public high school data that will be used for federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) accountability purposes. For the 2009-10 school year, the statewide AFGR was 76.68 percent. (Graduation rate data is lagged by one year for accountability purposes.) Read the full story

First-grade student Jayce Riley speaks during the Sedalia Elementary School's (Graves County) Blue Ribbon School celebration Jan. 6, 2011. Photo by Amy Wallot

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

Some are singers. Some are sprinters. Some are science experts. All of them are students at Sedalia Elementary School (Graves County), which was named a No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon School award winner.

Sedalia Elementary was one of five Kentucky public schools to earn that distinction for 2010. The other schools and Sedalia Elementary all share several commonalities that teachers and administrators agreed are keys to the schools’ success.

These schools cited community, parental support and teacher collaboration as critical. Teachers accepted nothing short of students’ best efforts, and they reciprocated in kind. Extracurricular and arts activities were varied and vast. Read the full story

Teresa Brewer jokes with 3rd-grade students about the meanings of peak and peek, suggesting that maybe some of them peek at their Christmas presents, at Campton Elementary School (Wolfe County) Feb. 1, 2011. Photo by Amy Wallot

Teachers talk about what made them want to get into the profession

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

The U.S. Department of Education recently launched the TEACH network, an effort to recruit and usher in the next generation of teachers. TEACH also strives to raise awareness of the teaching profession and enhance the public perception of what it means to be a teacher. The TEACH.gov website has numerous resources for people interested in the teaching profession.

At TEACH.gov, those interested can learn what it’s really like to be a teacher and get the tools needed to launch a career in education.

The website has valuable information on career paths, preparation programs, financial aid incentives, licensing and certifications, job listings, and more.

Three Kentucky public school teachers, Teresa Brewer, Paul Decker and Jordan Black, each knew at different times in their lives they wanted to become teachers. Read the full story