Ryan Mann By Ryan Mann ryan.mann@scott.kyschools.us With this year’s rollout of Kentucky’s new Teacher Professional Growth and Effectiveness System (TPGES), some of the biggest concerns I’ve heard from other teachers are over the “Peer Observation” section. Teachers have long been wary of administrators critiquing their classroom performance based on a brief observation, and adding a peer into the [...]
Sarah Reed helps 3rd-grade student Deandre Woods with a multiplication problem during class at Field Elementary School (Jefferson County).Photo by Amy Wallot, Nov. 21, 2014 By Sarah Reed sarah.reed@jefferson.kyschools.us When I learned that I was named Kentucky Teacher of the Year, there were only two words to describe how I felt: honored and humbled. After I won, had [...]
Two hundred more Kentucky teachers have achieved National Board Certification, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) has announced, bring the state closer to its legislative goal of having at least one National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT) in every public school. With 3,181 NBCTs overall, Kentucky ranks ninth in the nation, and only five states have more new NBCTs [...]
Kentucky educators have a number of excellent resources at their disposal to help implement the Kentucky Core Academic Standards (KCAS). One of these is Edivation, the professional learning resource available to all Kentucky educators on CIITS. Edivation offers a large online library of instructional professional learning videos with hours of footage showing real teachers implementing the standards in their classrooms. [...]
This is the first of a series of guest columns from teachers implementing the Kentucky Core Academic Standards for Science this school year. David Grossman By David Grossman david.grossman@etown.kyschools.us In the 1980s, Amy Grant had a song titled, “The Now and the Not Yet.” While I don’t remember much of the song, I do remember the title and the [...]
Lindsey Childers By Lindsey Childers lindsey.childers@trigg.kyschools.us Imagine a classroom that centers on discovery – a classroom that allows students to act as teachers and use the skills they have acquired to solve actual problems. This sort of classroom is possible and is, in fact, happening all over Kentucky. In my district, this classroom method is becoming a more [...]
With the help of a $30 million grant, 17 school districts are beefing up their technology to advance personalized learning.
Henry Webb Floyd County has seen dramatic growth under the leadership of Superintendent Henry Webb. Once ranked 145th among Kentucky public school districts, Floyd County, a distinguished district, now ranks 12th and is striving for every child to have a world-class education. With attendance improving and ACT scores at an all-time high, the district is moving in the [...]
Joseph Harris By Joseph Harris joseph.harris@lawrence.kyschools.us In the past few years, I’ve come to realize that peer observation is a powerful professional growth avenue for teachers, and it is one of the most beneficial aspects of the Professional Growth and Effectiveness System (PGES). While my official peer observation for PGES is scheduled for sometime next semester, I’ve actually [...]
Pearson and the Kentucky Department of Education have established a user research study for Schoolnet in which Kentucky educators may test new Schoolnet releases in advance of deploying the software statewide to all users. Teachers will be asked to run through Schoolnet products using a script and to tell whether Schoolnet works as expected and what they think of it. [...]