On Friday, the College Board released an update on how the Advanced Placement (AP) program is supporting this year’s AP exam administration. Within this email, College Board called out a few bullets that are within the AP Central update page that you can find College Board website. Please be sure to read the entire update, as I’m only including a snippet below.

Student understanding and teacher focus have grown dramatically over a two-decade improvement drive, leaders say

A clear handle on fractions is the goal for fourth-grade math students one January morning at Gamaliel Elementary, a small school perched near the Tennessee border in Monroe County. Teacher Shelly Buck asks her students to concentrate and visualize: “Make up one-fourth in your head,” she says. “If you were to visually picture one-fourth, is it more or less than one half?” She asks students to think and be prepared to take a position or to agree or disagree with classmates who volunteer an answer.

The four-year, $160,000 scholarships Georgetown College this week offered to all Scott County students admitted during the next 10 years also will be offered to students in Owen and two other counties yet to be announced.

At some point most every school day, Marissa Atha, a 7th grader at Spencer County Middle School, said she can’t wait for the final bell to chime.

She finds math and science tough to absorb, but once school is out, she feels confident that she can get things straight and also have fun with friends — all before dinner.

“How I do in class is improved,” Marissa said, crediting the school’s thriving afterschool program, Grizzlies Beyond the Bell, which everyone calls G.B.B.

From: https://safetymanagement.eku.edu/

There have been at least eight school shootings in 2019 resulting in injuries or deaths, according to Education Week’s 2019 School Shooting Tracker. In 2018, there were 24 school shootings in the United States that resulted in the loss of 35 lives and injury to 79 people.

The testing company will also create a so-called superscore which uses the student’s best scores from each section.

By Lauren Camera, Senior Education Writer

STUDENTS TAKING THE ACT next year will have the option to retake individual sections of the college entrance exam instead of the entire exam, making it easier for students applying to college to submit a higher score.

The Montgomery County schools are putting a priority on bullying prevention without putting a burden on their teachers.

October 20–26, 2019 - Safe Schools Week

Kentucky Safe Schools Week is set for October 20–26, 2019. This year's theme is “Our Safety Story!” KASC and the Kentucky Center for School Safety stands on the belief that everybody should enjoy school equally and be treated with respect. Community members, educators, students and parents are encouraged to get involved during Kentucky Safe Schools Week.

Every school has its own cast of characters weaving the fabric of its own Safety Story.  As in the film Toy Story 4, Woody, Buzz, and Bo along with a host of others, welcome a new friend, Forky, and help him find his purpose.  Our schools are composed of students/staff who are a host of likely characters with a variety of interests and talents. Remember the words of Buzz Lightyear, “The important thing is that we stick together.”  We ask that you join us across Kentucky, each and every school, as we embrace unity, kindness and empathy to enhance “Our Safety Story” ...‘cause you got a friend in me.’

New 5-star accountability system launches;
little improvement shown overall

(FRANKFORT, KY) - After nearly four years of development following the December 2015 passage of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Kentucky’s new 5-star accountability system for public schools is now live. The system can be viewed in the form of an online dashboard on the Kentucky School Report Card, where reports for each school and district will show graphics displaying the overall identification of one to five stars, federal classifications, the performance on indicators (from very low to very high), and any statistically significant achievement gaps.

For the 2018-2019 school year, 89 schools (by level) received one star; 251 received two stars; 643 received three stars; 233 received 4 stars; and 56 received 5 stars. A breakdown of the schools’ star rating by level is as follows:

School Level	Total Number of Schools	1-star	2-star	3-star	4-star	5-star
Elementary	725	46	132	364	146	37
Middle	319	23	65	159	60	12
High	228	20	54	120	27	7
Total	1272	89	251	643	233	56

The star ratings and federal classifications are based on 2018-2019 K-PREP (Kentucky Performance Rating for Educational Progress) assessment data and other indicators released today by the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE). The system does not rely solely on students’ proficiency on state standardized examinations. Instead, as recommended by the many stakeholders who have had a hand in designing the system during the past four years, the diverse accountability indicators factor into a school’s overall five-star rating include:

‘Alignment Tools’ Webcast Recording and Slides

 

Undergraduate students enrolled in educator preparation programs can receive up to $5,000 per semester for up to four semesters over the course of three academic years and receive no more than $20,000 total. They must be enrolled in an educator preparation program or have an application on file with a Kentucky university.

Students in an initial certification master’s educator preparation programs are eligible to receive up to $2,500 per semester for up to four semesters over the course of three academic years and receive no more than $10,000 total. They must be admitted to a MAT educator preparation program or have an application on file with a public Kentucky university. Eligibility requirements and an online application can be found on the Go Teach KY website and on KDE's website.

In a presentation to the Kentucky Budget Review Subcommittee on Education, Commissioner Wayne Lewis and Associate Commissioner David Horseman called for legislators to create a unified system for delivering quality career and technical education (CTE) for students in the Commonwealth.

“At best, we have a bifurcated system, but arguably, we lack a system for delivering career and technical education in Kentucky,” said Lewis.

Lewis said the state operates 53 area technology centers (ATCs), with numerous locally-operated centers spread throughout the state. Only some local centers receiving state funding. The funding for both state ATCs and local centers is too low to deliver quality programs based on regional workforce needs.

A recent NKU Alumni Spotlight article has illuminated Kentucky Center for Mathematics impact on elementary pre-service math teachers! KCM Faculty Associate, Funda Gonulates, was recognized for her work as a professor of the Teacher Education Department's "Teaching Elementary Mathematics" course, which was revealed to be a favorite by NKU Alumni.

2019 Summer Reading Workshops

Summer Reading Workshops are offered for elementary regular and special education teachers, interventionists, and Title 1 teachers through KASC’s Summer Academies. Diagnosing and Prescribing for Strategic Reading and The Nuts & Bolts of Reading Instruction workshops will be held in London, KY on July 18, 2019 and in Lexington, KY on July 23, 2019.

KASC’s Summer Reading Workshops are available only through academy participation. These two sessions are led by experienced reading specialists with a passion for teaching reading and a commitment to support the professional growth of teachers.

(FRANKFORT, KY) – Children will be given free books at several lunch programs being held across the state this summer as a part of the Kentucky Department of Education’s summer reading and math initiative, Stride Don’t Slide!

Beginning in mid-June, Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) officials and members of the Kentucky Board of Education will travel the Commonwealth, offering free reading activities and book giveaways as part of a national initiative through READ Up: Stop the Summer Slide℠ and The Children’s Reading Foundation.

“Although the summer months provide a much-needed break for students and teachers, studies show that up to three months of regression in reading and math can happen during the time off. The threat of regression is greatest for students not participating in summer learning and enrichment activities,” said KDE Commissioner Wayne Lewis. “With this initiative, our goals are to encourage parents to read to their youngest children for 20 minutes a day, encourage older students to read daily and promote summer-long learning for all students.”

CARROLLTON, Ky. – A statewide campaign to engage families and communities in effective and sustainable efforts to improve schools and student achievement was launched Friday (March 29, 2019) by the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence.

Photo credit: WDRB, Louisville, KY - Fallon Glick, Reporter

The Kentucky Department of Education presents
Stride Don't Slide: Tips to Fight Summer Reading & Math Regression

Research has shown students, on average, lose two months of mathematics and reading learning during summer vacation when they don't practice the skills they have learned during the school year. Your child worked hard in math and reading this school year. Help him or her make strides this summer by using the resources listed by the Kentucky Department of Education.

Six-Part KET Series "You Are Not Alone" to Address Youth Mental Health

It’s not easy being an adolescent in today’s world.

One out of every five young people, ages 13-18, live with a mental health disorder, yet stigma keeps them largely in the shadows. Additionally, suicide is the second leading death for youths ages 12-18, claiming more of our nation’s young people every year than cancer, heart disease, pneumonia and influenza combined, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.