Schools have been under enormous pressure this summer to reopen as soon as possible—from families, from data showing the learning students lost this spring, even from the White House. And system leaders have been working tirelessly to solve the dizzying array of logistical challenges to open school buildings safely.
FRANKFORT, KY) – School districts throughout the Commonwealth were informed June 24 that the state is taking steps to provide unlimited non-traditional instruction (NTI) days during the 2020-2021 academic year.
This announcement came in the form of a memorandum submitted by Interim Education Commissioner Kevin C. Brown and signed by Lt. Gov. and Secretary of the Education and Workforce Cabinet Jacqueline Coleman. The memorandum temporarily suspends the statute capping NTI days at 10 and indicates that Brown will recommend an administrative regulation to the Kentucky Board of Education providing for unlimited NTI days for the next school year. It came on the same day Gov. Andy Beshear announced the release of the Healthy at School guidance during his daily press conference on the COVID-19 pandemic.
(FRANKFORT, KY) – In preparation for the reopening of school for the 2020-2021 school year, the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) would like to better understand families’ and caregivers’ experiences with distance learning last school year due to COVID-19.
(FRANKFORT, KY) – The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) is seeking feedback on the new Kentucky Academic Standards for Library Media Elective (K-12).
FRANKFORT, KY) – The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) released a new guidance document on May 15 about questions schools and districts should consider when they are making plans for how to restart school for the 2020-2021 school year.
(FRANKFORT, KY) – The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) released two new guidance documents on April 30 to help districts work through how to safely handle graduation alternatives and other end-of-school procedures during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
KASC has received several questions about whether/how to change policies in regard to grading during this NTI period. This is a complex issue that may or may not involve SBDM councils.
(FRANKFORT, KY) – The Kentucky Association of School Administrators (KASA) recently sent out a survey to 260 Kentucky principals seeking their feedback on the two options about how high school graduation requirements will be met for seniors during the 2019-2020 school year.
(FRANKFORT, Ky.) -- Amid the challenges of COVID-19, the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) announced today that all K-12 students and teachers in Kentucky now have free access to an online portal of educational resources that can support learning and lessons at home.
Please join the Virtual Parent Café brought to you by Kentucky Collaborative for Families and Schools
(it’s a lot of fun and great way to connect to other families)
Fridays March 20 - May 8 @ 1:00pm
In response to the urgent need for at-home learning resources while Kentucky schools are closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, KET has created an online toolkit for families and educators at KET.org/learnathome. The toolkit provides families free high-quality educational resources for children of all ages.
(FRANKFORT, KY) – The Kentucky Department of Education’s (KDE) Education Continuation Task Force met virtually on March 23 to receive an overview on the Non-Traditional Instruction (NTI) Program and discussed questions that are being raised by districts and education shareholders related to this type of instruction during COVID-19.
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.
Update: 4/2/2020
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.
(FRANKFORT, KY) – A total of 219 Kentucky educators were recognized Feb. 11 for recently obtaining the highest possible certification in the teaching profession, according to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
Crowe accepted the award during Kentucky's annual Council for Exceptional Children Conference in November. He also was presented a special award by the Kentucky Department of Education during the Dec. 4 Kentucky Board of Education meeting.
Crowe is a special education teacher at Wayland Alexander Elementary School in Hartford. He started his 17-year career as a school social worker and has been in the classroom for the past 16 years. He approaches his work with students holistically and firmly believes that setting high expectations, creating a safe and encouraging environment and positive role modeling enables students to thrive academically and socially and readies them for “real world” situations.
Archived video is available anytime at KET.org/legislature and on the app.
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.
Earlier this week, Lt. Gov. Coleman released an OpEd and corresponding video entitled, "It's Time to Help the Helpers."
OpEd: https://kentucky.gov/Pages/Activity-stream.aspx?n=LieutenantGovernor&prId=20
Video: https://youtu.be/BtnRVj105ag
Seal of Arts Excellence Guidance Now Available
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) is pleased to announce new guidance for establishing a local Seal of Arts Excellence to recognize high school graduates who demonstrate an advanced level of specialization in one or more areas of visual and performing arts. The guidance can be found on the Seal of Arts Excellence webpage.
A new feature for creating a Seal of Arts Excellence on a student’s transcript will be available in Infinite Campus for the 2022-2023 school year. Districts will have the option of adding a Seal of Arts Excellence to a student’s transcript through the Graduation Tab that will include the date of completion as well as the area of specialization. Please contact [email protected] with any questions.
KASC Council Member Shoutout
KASC will be recognizing the council members across our state who are leading their schools. If you’d like to recognize one or more of your council members, please complete this brief Nomination Form and we’ll share with all of our members and on social media. Let’s lift up one another in 2023!
SBDM Election Kit
Now included FREE with membership! Access to our election kit is available to all KASC members through our Learning Management System (LMS). The kit includes advice for developing written procedures, guidance for online elections, forms to customize for every step of the process, and legal requirements. Everything is organized for the person/group running each election, so organizers don’t have to view the entire kit.
Academic Standards Family Guides Available
The Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS) family guides were developed to help families familiarize themselves with the content of each grade level’s standards. Each guide contains a standards overview for reading and writing, mathematics, science, and social studies. The guides are now available in Spanish and can be accessed on the Standards Family Guides & Resources webpage on the KY Standards website.
Kentucky’s Multi-Tiered System of Supports
KyMTSS is a multi-level prevention system to support student achievement and social-emotional behavioral competencies through the integration of differentiated core instruction, assessment, and intervention.
