Barbourville Ind. board member Jason Reeves, a professor of education at Georgetown College, was presented with the Robinson Award for Diversity and Equity in Public Education by the Kentucky Board of Education (KBE).

“It’s been a personal honor to advance the cause of access for all P-12 learners,” Reeves said. “To now be included in the list of distinguished people and organizations who have been given this award for their incredible work is truly an honor of a lifetime.”

The award is presented annually to recognize outstanding leadership, commitment and service in promoting equity and opportunities to learn at high levels for all Kentucky students. It is named for Samuel Robinson, a member of the KBE from 1991 to 2004 who made diversity and equity in public education his life’s work. An educator and civil rights leader, Robinson began his career in Louisville in 1960 and became a well-known figure there during the Civil Rights era.

Reeves said this award serves as a reminder that the work of inclusiveness and equity is ongoing, and he now has even more responsibility to advance this cause on a daily basis.

The Kentucky Board of Education has named the new non-voting members of the board. At its April 20 meeting, the KBE approved the appointments of Joud Dahleh (right), a sophomore at the Ignite Institute in Boone County, and Joanna Howerton Stevens (left), a National Board Certified Teacher from Garrard County High School.

Dahleh, was appointed to a one-year term as a non-voting member and will represent her fellow students throughout Kentucky. She was chosen from 17 students in the 4th Congressional District who completed the application procedure and met the criteria, including submitting parent and school support statements.

Dahleh, 16, said it was an honor to be selected as the second public school student to hold a position on the KBE and hopes to use this opportunity to provide the representation she always wanted as a child.

Stevens was the 2014 Kentucky High School Teacher of the Year. Stevens was selected from 19 applicants and recommended by the KBE Application Review Special Committee. She will fill the seat that was vacated by Allison Slone.

“I am a proud graduate of a Kentucky public school system,” she said. “I have a strong interest in the future of our Commonwealth for my family, my friends, my colleagues, my students and my community. I am honored and excited to work with the Kentucky Board of Education to improve education in our state, leading to enhanced outcomes for our citizens in the future.”

KSBA is less than two weeks away from Kentucky Gives Day 2022, when the association will join nonprofits throughout the Commonwealth for a special 24-hour online fundraising event. In the days leading up to Tuesday, May 10, KSBA will be raising awareness of needed funds for the KSBA Educational Foundation’s First Degree college and career and technical education (CTE) scholarship programs.

KSBA awarded more scholarships in 2022 than ever before, including four postsecondary scholarships to college-bound seniors and 67 new scholarships to fund CTE industry certifications for high school students. As the impact of the scholarships grow, so must our fundraising. KSBA urges our members, friends and partners to make a gift in support of our students.

Contact KSBA Communications Director Josh Shoulta with any questions. Thank you for your generous support of KSBA’s student scholarships.

KSBA’s annual law update webinar will be held from 9 a.m. until noon (ET) on Thursday, June 2. Experienced legal and policy experts from KSBA will provide a full review of the legislative session, the annual board policy/procedure update, Open Meetings/Open Records Act (OMA/ORA) updates and a federal law update. This training is recommended for school board members, superintendents, board attorneys, assistant superintendents, school/district administrators, finance officers, etc.

Registration is limited to 100 participants at a cost of $150 per person. Participants are eligible for three hours of training credit – board member, CLE and EILA (CLE and EILA approval has been requested). The board member hours will count as Level 4/5 elective credit in KSBA’s Academy of Studies. This is the only opportunity for a full recap of the legislative session and its impact on school boards.

View a full agenda and register at KSBA.org.

Last fall, Lt. Governor Jacqueline Coleman hosted a series of Student Mental Health Action Summits across Kentucky, listening to students about mental health challenges they faced and what they needed to better address those challenges. In the months following this listening tour, the administration, the Kentucky Department of Education and its student partners have been developing recommendations for supporting Kentucky students’ mental health.

KSBA members are invited to a virtual Student Mental Health Initiative Briefing with Coleman and student representatives from the KDE Commissioner’s Student Advisory Council. The briefing, hosted via Zoom, will be held from 9 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. (ET) on Tuesday, May 3.

Those interested in attending must RSVP online. Once RSVP’d, you will receive an emailed invitation with log in information prior to the event.

KSBA will host the next installment of its popular Learn and Earn webinar series from noon until 1 p.m. on Wednesday, May 11. Entitled, “Teaching certification and rank changes: finding solutions during a teacher shortage,” this one-hour session provides an overview of traditional pathways to teacher certification as well as the rank change system and process. It will also cover new methods for teacher certification: Option 6 and Option 7, new methods for rank change: CEO programs, recruitment and retention of new teachers and the budget impact of new and traditional rank change processes.

KSBA welcomes Barbourville Ind. Schools board member Jason Reeves as presenter. Reeves is an education professor at Georgetown College and was the recent recipient of the Kentucky Board of Education's 2022 Robinson Award for Diversity and Equity in Public Education.

Application deadline: April 29

Application deadline: April 30

Application deadline: May 18

Application deadline: May 23

KSBA's experienced Superintendent Search consultants have worked with local school boards across Kentucky to facilitate more than 315 successful searches. Visit KSBA’s Superintendent Search homepage to learn more about our service.

Please join KSBA in welcoming Policy Consultant and eMeeting Trainer Matt Cooper, who joined our Policy team on April 25. Matt currently serves on the Menifee County Schools Board of Education, giving him unique board policy experience.

This edition of KSBA Aware is made possible in part