Kentucky Teacher

First-grade student Callie Austin listens to curriculum coach Selena Cochran teach sentence structure during a writing lab at Porter Elementary School (Johnson County). Photo by Amy Wallot, Nov. 16, 2012

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

Sandra Music couldn’t bring herself to eat the blue mashed potatoes.

Even though her Porter Elementary School (Johnson County) students told her they tasted just like regular mashed potatoes, Music took a pass on the lunch item last fall. “That whole week the kids’ mouths were blue,” she joked. “One day it was mashed potatoes, another day it was blue suckers. They had something blue to eat every day.”

The school went blue to celebrate its recognition as a 2012 National Blue Ribbon School.

Blue tongues aside, Music said it was worth it because it helped the students realize the significance of the Blue Ribbon accomplishment they helped earn.

“By the end of the week, they got what the excitement was all about,” said Music, who has been principal at the school for four years. “The entire Paintsville community was behind us. We were recognized at the board meeting, there was a proclamation, and the students really got that they were doing great things at this school.” Read the full story

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

University of Louisville MAT student Jason Cooper and Jeffersontown Elementary School (Jefferson County) teacher Fife Wicks participate in an activity about subject-verb agreement during the Grammar for Teachers professional development at Westport Middle School (Jefferson County).

When Lynette Ward was in high school, one of her teachers asked the class if it wanted to do a second unit on debate or one on grammar. The class picked debate, of course, said Ward, now a 6th-grade language arts teacher at Bullitt Lick Middle School (Bullitt County).

Ward said she never received a good education in grammar, which presented a problem since it is littered throughout the Kentucky Core Academic Standards for English/Language Arts.

“I was nervous because I felt like I didn’t have the instruction,” she said. “So I’m going to be learning a lot with my students. But it’s important, because I want to sound intelligent and I want them to sound intelligent.”

Patti Slagle, a retired English teacher from Jefferson County, said Ward is not alone.

“A lot of teachers did not have direct instruction when they were students, and they certainly did not have direct instruction when they were in college,” she said. “So there are some teachers who are concerned about teaching this content because they don’t feel they have a strong command of grammar for instructional purposes.” Read the full story

Each year the Kentucky Council of Teachers of English/Language Arts conducts a statewide writing contest to recognize young writers in elementary school, middle school, high school and college. Teachers may submit student writing to the contest.

Students’ writing can be submitted in several categories. Winners will receive a certificate and recognition at next year’s KCTE/LA conference. They also will have their writing published in the Kentucky English Bulletin. Details can be found by visiting http://www.kcte.org/and clicking on the Annual Writing Contest link.

The deadline for entries is May 7.

The Kentucky Council of Teachers of English/Language Arts (KCTE/LA) is accepting entries for its 2012 writing contest.

The contest is designed to recognize the exceptional writing of Kentucky students. All current KCTE/LA members may send student work into the competition.

The deadline for submissions is May 7. Click http://contest.kcte.org/student.html for more information or contact Deborah Bell at (270) 809-4725.

Alesia Williams, an English and humanities teacher at duPont Manual High School (Jefferson County), is the most recent recipient of the WHAS11-TV Excellence in Classroom and Educational Leadership (ExCEL) Award.

Williams “places an emphasis on academic rigor while giving her students as close to a college experience as possible,” said Principal Larry Wooldridge. “Ms. Williams is truly a teacher who cares about her students and strives to provide instruction that is both challenging and fun.”

Williams holds a bachelor’s degree from Berea College and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Spalding University. She also spent two years in graduate studies at the University of Cincinnati School of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning.

She taught at Liberty High beginning in 2001 and then joined the staff at Manual in 2004. She earned certification from the Western Kentucky University Center for Gifted Studies to teach Advanced Placement (AP) English Language and

Composition. Her students consistently earn high scores on AP tests. She also teaches Advanced History and Appreciation of the Visual and Performing Arts.

Williams has served as a writing cluster coordinator and as a teacher representative on the School-Based Decision Making (SBDM) Council. She also is co-sponsor of the Manual Student-Teacher Book Club. Read the full story

The March 2012 issue of the Kentucky Literacy Link is now posted on the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) website.

This issue focuses on writing. One of the KDE’s goals is to reach across the curriculum and involve all content areas in the implementation of English and language arts standards. This issue of the Literacy Link, and all previous issues, can be accessed here.

To make submissions to the literacy link newsletter, contact MK Hardaway at (502) 564-2106, ext. 4513.

KET invites kids in kindergarten through fifth grade to submit their original illustrated stories to its annual Young Writers Contest.

Click here to read stories chosen as winners in last year’s contest.

KET will select winners at each grade level and award prizes. The first-place stories in each grade level will be published on KET’s website.

Submissions will be accepted through April 15. Click here for more details, including all official rules and the entry form.

The Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning has several writing workshops slated for February.

Go to http://www.carnegiecenterlex.org/or call (859) 254-4175 to learn more.

Letters About Literature (LAL), a national reading and writing promotion program of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, invites young readers in grades 4-12 to enter this year’s LAL letter-writing competition. The contest challenges young readers to write a personal letters of reflection to authors that have changed their view of the world.

LAL awards prizes on both the state and national levels in three competition levels: Level 1 for children in grades 4-6; Level 2 for children in grades 7-8; and Level 3 for children in grades 9-12. Six national winners will each receive cash awards and earn the opportunity to nominate a school or community library to receive a $10,000 LAL Reading Promotion grant. Twelve national honor winners will receive cash awards and also will nominate a school or community library for a $1,000 LAL Reading Promotion grant.

Teachers, librarians and parents can download free teaching materials on LAL’s reader response and reflective writing program, including lesson plans, assessment checklists and student writing samples by visiting the LAL website. Submissions must be postmarked by Jan. 6, 2012. State winners will be notified in April 2012 and national winners by May 2012.

For more details, contact Catherine Gourley at (570) 262-7320.

Kentucky has contracted with NCS Pearson Inc. to provide content-area tests for public school grades 3 through 8 and for writing assessments at the high school level.

Pearson provides large-scale assessment services in more than 25 states and for the U.S. Department of Education. The company will provide project management; test development; administration materials; test scoring and resolution; data files; score reporting; quality assurance; security; and technical specifications. The initial contract period of April 15, 2011, through June 30, 2012, is for a total of $7,661,811 and may be renewed for three additional two-year periods. Read the full story