What do you want in an education commissioner?

The Kentucky Board of Education (KBE) wants to know what qualities the public and public education stakeholders want to see in the state’s next education commissioner.

The board has created a survey which is now open and will close at 5 p.m. ET on Feb. 6. It takes about five minutes to complete.

“It is crucial that we gather feedback from across the state so that we can make critical and informed decisions as we proceed with our search,” Board Chairman David Karem (pictured) said. “The input we receive from this survey will help shape our vision as to what we need to look for in a candidate over the coming months.”

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) created and will administer the survey, which is running simultaneously with the board’s search for an executive search firm.

Board members Cody Pauley Johnson, Sharon Porter Robinson and Lee Todd will evaluate responses to the RPF for a search firm. The responses are due by 2:30 p.m. ET, Friday, Jan. 24. The evaluation committee is expected to make a recommendation at a special KBE meeting Feb. 12, where the survey results will also be shared.

“We are committed to moving quickly and aggressively in the search for our next commissioner,” Karem said. The board hopes to have a new commissioner in place by July 1.

West Point Ind. to discuss merger

The West Point Independent Board of Education will meet Jan. 28 to discuss a possible merger with Hardin County Schools.

In a Jan. 14 letter to parents, board Chairman Eddie Moore and Interim Superintendent Sally Sugg (pictured) said the district has “reached a point that is not financially sustainable.”

The letter cites several factors including increasing staffing and operational expenses, low enrollment, unfunded mandates and already levying one of the highest property tax rates in the state.

Sugg told WBRD-TV that there isn’t anything left to cut in the 149-student district.

“We’re already doing without some of the services I think a school should have,” Sugg said. “We have no day-time custodian here at the school. We all pitch in and do the work. We don’t have full-time guidance counselors here. We really need to have the arts in our school, and we can’t afford to have band and some of those kinds of opportunities that kids need."

Hardin County Schools Superintendent Teresa Morgan said in a statement that the district looks “forward to working with our friends at West Point Independent Schools.”

Morgan said the district would welcome West Point students and their families with open arms.

West Point was in the process of appealing a Kentucky Department of Education audit that had recommended that the state take over the struggling district.

Legislative committee to hear school safety, construction bills

The Senate Education committee will consider a bill Thursday that would make several changes to this past year’s school safety bill (SB 1 2019). The changes, several of which KSBA requested, are designed to enhance the law, said KSBA’s Director of Advocacy Eric Kennedy.

Senate Bill 8 includes allowing school resource officers to receive death in the line of duty benefits, allowing any individual to be hired as the district school safety coordinator and providing more flexibility in how districts may achieve the goals in last year’s bill.

The bill also clarifies that school resource officers be armed law enforcement officers.

The committee also will hear Senate Bill 57, which KSBA supports. This bill would amend the “water fountain bill” from 2019 which required water bottle filling stations to be added whenever a school is renovated. The new bill would require the filling stations only in newly constructed buildings.

The committee will meet at 11:30 a.m. and may be streamed on KET, however the schedule had been set by Wednesday afternoon. 

Beshear to unveil budget proposal

In his State of the Commonwealth address, Gov. Andy Beshear (pictured) called for leaving divisive politics behind and moving Kentucky forward to provide more opportunities for every family.

Beshear said he wants to break the cycles of poverty, abuse and addiction, and help Kentuckians obtain a good-paying career, affordable health care and a quality education. 

In the address, Beshear also foreshadowed his budget proposal, which will be released Jan. 28, saying it would be an “education first budget” which would include a $2,000 raise for teachers.

“These teachers deserve a raise. They are on the front lines of every problem we face as a commonwealth, from family-member addiction, to hunger, to the need for better jobs,” Gov. Beshear said. “… We’ve figured out how to give tax incentives to corporations – so I know we can figure out how to pay a living wage to the men and women who get up at the crack of dawn every morning to go open their classrooms, stay up late grading papers and give everything they can so our Kentucky children have every opportunity.” 

Beshear's budget address is set for 7 p.m. ET Jan. 28, on KET and at ket.org/live. 

KSBA Annual Conference registration now open

KSBA's 84th Annual Conference will be held Feb. 21-23 at the Galt House in Louisville, once again bringing together more than 1,000 school board members, superintendents and public education leaders. Register and learn more.

Rally to reduce youth e-cigarette use

Supporters of measures to curb youth access to e-cigarettes held a rally in the Capitol Rotunda to urge lawmakers to help end the vaping epidemic among Kentucky’s youth.

“Too many Kentucky adolescents and teens are using e-cigarettes,” said Ben Chandler, chairman of the Coalition for a Smoke-Free Tomorrow, which organized the Jan. 14 rally. The Coalition is comprised of more than 225 Kentucky organizations, including the Kentucky School Boards Association.

E-cigarette use more than quadrupled among middle school students and nearly doubled among high school students from 2017 to 2019. The past year, more than one in four Kentucky high school students used e-cigarettes monthly. That number was one in five in middle school.

To combat the problem, the Coalition is supporting legislation designed to keep e-cigarettes out of teens’ hands. The measures include:

Advocates hope to build on the success of last year’s tobacco-free schools law which gave Kent ucky school districts the opportunity to adopt policies to prohibit the use of any tobacco products on campuses and in school vehicles. The model policy prohibits tobacco use by school officials on field trips when students are present. As of January, 97 percent of districts have adopted the policy. 

New Impact Kentucky survey seeks educator feedback on working conditions

The Impact Kentucky survey, administered to educators by the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) and Panorama Education, will provide schools with critical data to guide implementation of policies and practices that maximize teacher effectiveness.

Having opened Jan. 13 to certified school staff members, the new survey is shorter and simpler compared to its predecessor, the TELL Kentucky survey. The new survey only takes about 15 minutes.

 

The 77-question survey designed by a committee of superintendents, teachers, principals and education groups from across the state, is open through Feb. 21.

“This survey has been tailored to address the themes and concerns raised by the steering committee and contains data that is highly actionable at the school level,” said Rob Akers, KDE associate commissioner of the Office of Educator Licensure and Effectiveness.

KSBA accepting nominations for PEAK Award

Nominations are now being accepted for KSBA’s Spring 2020 PEAK (Public Education Achieves in Kentucky) Award.

KSBA established the award in 1997 to bring greater attention to noteworthy efforts by public schools aimed at enhancing the learning skills of students. 

We invite districts who have not won a PEAK Award in the past five years to nominate a program. Innovative programs and proven results are generally received well by judges.

An article about the winning program will appear in the May issue of the Kentucky School Advocate. Representatives from KSBA will travel to the winning district for an award presentation and will be invited to present a session on the program at KSBA's 2021 Annual Conference in Louisville.

Some of the previous winning programs have involved early childhood education or dropout prevention, while others have focused on enhancing music education or college and career readiness, just to name a few. Links to articles on some of the previous winners are at  ksba.org/peak.aspx.

The deadline is Wednesday, Feb. 19. Visit  our website for more information, including award criteria and nomination information.

Nominations open for 2021 Kentucky Teacher Awards

The Kentucky Department of Education and Valvoline Inc., sponsors of the Kentucky Teacher Awards, have opened nominations for the 2021 Kentucky Teacher Awards.

Nominations may be submitted at the 2021 Kentucky Teacher of the Year website. The deadline is Feb. 15. Any full-time public school teacher in the state with at least three years of experience is eligible. Teachers may be nominated by students, parents, peers, principals, superintendents or anyone from the community.

All nominated teachers are required to complete a formal application, which must be submitted by March 15. Judging will take place in March by a panel of education professionals from around the state. Up to 24 Valvoline Teacher Achievement Award winners will be announced in the spring.

Following site visits with nine semifinalists in April and interviews with the top three candidates, the Kentucky Teacher of the Year will be announced in Frankfort. At that time, all 24 teachers will be honored with cash awards and other mementos.

Teacher Achievement Award winners will receive a cash gift of $500; two of the three finalists will receive a cash gift of $3,000; and the Teacher of the Year will receive a cash prize of $10,000, along with an ambassadorship opportunity. The Kentucky Teacher of the Year will represent the state in the National Teacher of the Year competition.

KSBA in the news

KSBA is often called on by media outlets to discuss important school-related issues. Here is a recent story to which your association contributed:

Search for new commissioner, education priorities top agenda for new state board this week, Lexington Herald-Leader, Jan. 13  

Poll Results

Other upcoming dates

Feb. 3-7: National School Counseling Week 

Feb. 4: Kentucky Board of Education meeting, Frankfort

Feb. 10-14: National FCCLA Week 

Feb. 15: Deadline for Kentucky Teacher Awards nominations

Feb. 19: Deadline to submit nominations for KSBA PEAK Award

Feb. 20: Banners for KSBA’s 2020 Annual Conference due at KSBA office 

Feb. 21-23: KSBA Annual Conference, Louisville 

Feb. 22-29: National FFA week

This edition of KSBA Aware is made possible in part

by the following KSBA Affiliate Members.