(FRANKFORT, Ky.) – During the annual Continuous Improvement Summit Sept. 19 in Lexington, the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) recognized five schools and two districts for best practices.

Associate Commissioner Kelly Foster publicly recognized the winners and presented each with a $500 check that can be used toward school improvement.

“Continuous improvement is about finding more effective and efficient ways of doing things,” Foster said. “We don’t have to reinvent the wheel, we need to learn from each other. We have some great work going on in our schools and districts, and appreciate that our winning educators have taken the initiative and are committed to finding ways to improve student learning.”

Those recognized along with their best practices were:

  • East Carter High School (Carter Co.): I-LEAD Classroom
  • Pike County Schools: Collaborative Leaders: Districtwide School Administrator Professional Learning Communities
  • Seneca High School/Western High School (Jefferson County): Coaching to Win
  • L.B.J. Elementary (Breathitt County): Professional Learning Community Process for Support Staff
  • Jones Park Elementary (Casey County): Response to Intervention Professional Learning Communities Propel Student Achievement
  • Carter County Schools: Transforming Professional Learning Through Lesson Study

Any Kentucky teacher, school or district may submit a best practice to KDE for consideration. A team of content experts reviews the submission against standards for school improvement and rates it Beginning, Developing, Proficient or Advanced. Feedback is provided to strengthen the submitted initiative, and accepted practices are added to the Best Practices website for others to access as a means of improvement.

“The Best Practices website is a way to share work that not only recognizes those engaged in it, but also allows others in the state to learn from it and improve their practice in support of student learning for all of our students,” Foster said.

To date, more than 150 best practices that cover varying areas of school operations have been posted to the website. These can be accessed on the Best Practices website or by going to the KDE website and searching for “Best Practices.”

More than 700 educators attended the 2017 Continuous Improvement Summit, which is sponsored by AdvanceED Kentucky in cooperation with the Kentucky Department of Education.