Leadership

November is National Homeless Youth Awareness Month, a time for us to bring attention to the prevalence of homeless youth within Kentucky and create an awareness of the challenges faced by students and families experiencing homelessness.

My first few weeks as Kentucky’s education commissioner have been a whirlwind of phone calls and virtual meetings with students, teachers, Kentucky Department of Education staff and other education stakeholders to get an idea of the education landscape in the Commonwealth.

"Schools across Kentucky have been doing a tremendous job keeping the learning going for our students and we have not seen (so far) COVID-19...

The 2019-2020 School Report Card (SRC) is now public and we’d love to receive feedback and suggestions from our advisory groups and education partners. The feedback link at the bottom right of the SRC can be used to provide a quick comment or respond to a feedback survey at any time.

This year, Oct. 18-24 will be recognized as Kentucky Safe Schools Week. This annual event – which has recognized issues such as preventing cyberbullying, hatred and violence – has taken on a bit of a different perspective due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

I know this is the most unusual opening Kentucky – and the rest of the country – probably has ever had. The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) and I stand ready to help all our districts as the school year begins.

I know these are frustrating times for all of Kentucky’s public school families.

I think one of the hardest things for those of us who are planning for the upcoming school year – parents and teachers alike – is the uncertainty of it all.

As plans are being created for the upcoming school year, we are all struggling with how children will learn, remain safe and traverse an environment unlike one we have ever experienced. It’s a time when parents are trying to figure out whether their children will be taught at school or through non-traditional instruction from home, along with how their children will get to school and what they will do after school.

Dear Public School Family: I just wanted to thank all of you who attended the “Reopening Kentucky Schools: Virtual Town Hall for Educators and Staff” on...