A large group of educators sit at tables in a ballroom listening to a speaker on stage in front of them.

More than 1,200 educators and education leaders from across Kentucky attended the 2026 Kentucky Continuous Improvement Summit in Lexington Sept. 21-22. They spent two days learning, collaborating and sharing ideas that can strengthen teaching, leadership and student outcomes, Photo by Myles Young, Kentucky Department of Education, Sept. 22, 2026

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) presented 13 awards for best practices during the 2026 Kentucky Continuous Improvement Summit at the Central Bank Center in Lexington on Sept. 21-22.

KDE Associate Commissioner Kelly Foster presented each Best Practice winner with a $1,000 check to be used for school improvement.

Those recognized were:

  • Systems That Support Success: A Weekly Model for Teacher Development & Standards-Aligned Student Agency, Park City Elementary School (Barren County)
  • All In for All Students (Multi-Tiered System of Supports): Where the Whole Child Matters, Carroll County Middle School
  • Automated and Customized Professional Learning Community (PLC) Data, Carroll County Middle School
  • Breaking Silos, Building Proficiency: Cross-Department Collaboration in Middle School, Fayette County Public Schools
  • Better Together: Maximizing Success for Multilingual Learners Through Co-Teaching, Russell Cave Elementary School (Fayette County)
  • From Compliance to Commitment: Building Professional Learning Communities that Drive Instructional Impact, The Academy @ Shawnee (Jefferson County)
  • All Means All: Results from Schoolwide Literacy Block in Middle School, Thomas Jefferson Middle (Jefferson County)
  • Check-In, Check-Out Program, South Laurel High School (Laurel County)
  • Conditions for Success, Northern Kentucky Cooperative for Educational Services
  • Beyond the Screener: Using CogAT Data to Build Smarter Student Profiles and Drive Differentiation, Oldham County
  • In the Driver’s Seat: Curriculum Aligned Reporting and What It Means for Students, Oldham County
  • Connecting High-Quality Instructional Resources to Vibrant Learning Through Professional Learning Communities That Matter, Rodburn Elementary School (Rowan County)
  • Rowan Student Defense Day: Authentic Demonstration of Learning Through Student-Led Performance Assessment, Rowan County

“The 2026 Kentucky Continuous Improvement Summit brought together more than 1,200 educators and education leaders from across the Commonwealth to learn, collaborate and share ideas that can strengthen teaching, leadership and student outcomes,” said Commissioner of Education Robbie Fletcher.

In 2013, KDE launched the Best Practices and Sustainability website, which was designed to serve as a clearinghouse to promote practices that motivate, engage and provide measurable results in student learning, achievement, and school and district processes.

The website supports teachers, administrators, district personnel and any other education advocates seeking strategies that have been proven successful in a variety of settings. KDE has identified effective practices that improve student performance and promote practices for educators to improve educational opportunities for all children.

Any Kentucky teacher, school, district or regional cooperative may submit a best practice to KDE for consideration to be a Best Practice award recipient by visiting the Best Practices and Sustainability website.

The Kentucky Continuous Improvement Summit provided participants with opportunities to learn from experts and fellow Kentucky educators, explore effective practices and strategies, strengthen professional connections and take ideas back to their schools and districts. The event underscored the value of coming together as a statewide education community to learn from one another and focus on practices that make a difference for students. Mike Rutherford’s insights on high-performance teaching and learning, leadership development and results-based improvement left participants with practical strategies and renewed energy to advance continuous improvement in their schools and districts.

KDE and Cognia look forward to continuing this work at the 2027 Kentucky Continuous Improvement Summit on Sept. 13-14, 2027. Save the date and plan to join educators from across Kentucky for another opportunity to learn, connect and grow together.