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Kentucky School News and Commentary

  • State school board to discuss uniform content, graduation requirements

    This from Jim Warren at the Herald-Leader:

    The Kentucky Board of Education will tackle several key items related to plans for statewide educational improvements during two days of meetings in Frankfort starting Wednesday.

    Board members are to consider steps aimed at ensuring that course content is uniform across the state, [...]

    Posted: December 08, 2009, 10:07pm EST
  • Nearly $40 million Already Cut from SEEK

    How has the state budget already cut Kentucky's SEEK funding? Prichard Counts the ways.
    Kentucky is sending districts $39,723,567 less in SEEK funds this year than the state provided last year...

    So, let's stop saying the state hasn't cut P-12 funding yet. We've actually seen cuts to the [...]
    Posted: December 08, 2009, 9:48pm EST
  • Happy Holliday

    ...from Facebook.
    [...]
    Posted: December 07, 2009, 5:29pm EST
  • The Budget Blues

    This week's blog blast from the big boss is all about the dollars - or lack thereof. At Dr. H's Blog Commissioner Holliday writes,
    In my 38 years of education and over 20 years as an administrator in charge of budgets, the past two years have been the most [...]
    Posted: December 07, 2009, 12:26pm EST
  • Major studies show verdict is still out ...

    Major studies show verdict is still out on charter-school effectiveness: The benefits of charter schools are still unknown, based on two major studies that offer opposing views of their effectiveness. One study found that charter-school students outperform their public-school peers, while the other found that charter-school students perform worse or [...]
    Posted: December 06, 2009, 7:25pm EST
  • My Favs from Rose

    Justin has added another video from Rose at 20. This time it's Debra Dawahare and Ray Corns, easily the most delightful, and entertaining chats of the evening.

    Thanks once again to EdJurist:

    Rose at 20: Debra Dawahare, Esq. and Judge Ray Corns from UK College of Education [...]

    Posted: December 03, 2009, 1:38pm EST
  • KENTUCKY BOARD OF EDUCATION TO MEET

    The Kentucky Board of Education will meet Wednesday and Thursday, December 9 and 10, in the State Board Room of the Capital Plaza Tower in Frankfort.

    On Wednesday, the meeting will begin at 9 a.m. The board’s Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Committee and Management Committee will meet in the [...]
    Posted: December 03, 2009, 1:20pm EST
  • School News from Around Kentucky

    Schools face $20 million spending cut: The Kentucky Department of Education plans to cut its spending by about $20 million over the rest of this fiscal year, which could affect many programs in local school districts around the state. Bedrock items including the [...]
    Posted: December 03, 2009, 12:24pm EST
  • Department Circulates ESEA PowerPoint on the Hill

    This from Politics K-12:

    The U.S. Department of Education is shopping this Elementary and Secondary Education Act PowerPoint presentation to congressional aides this week, meant to lay out broad principles for renewing the law, now known as the No Child Left Behind Act.

    And if you [...]
    Posted: December 03, 2009, 8:30am EST
  • An Interview With Arne Duncan

    "I just want to make this clear.
    We've never said charter schools
    are the magic answer. I went to the charter school community and said third-rate charter schools are part of the problem. But successful charter schools are part of the answer."
    --Arne Duncan

    U.S. Secretary of Education Arne' [...]

    Posted: December 03, 2009, 8:16am EST
  • A History of Deceit?

    This from the Herald-Leader:


    Much of money for history center in Phelps buys sports itemsOver the last five years, state Rep. Keith Hall, D-Phelps, has earmarked at least $120,000 in state funds for the "Phelps History Center" in Pike County.
    There is no Phelps History Center, as [...]
    Posted: December 01, 2009, 7:22pm EST
  • More on the Montgomery Co Book Rukus...

    ...and why the superintendent was correct
    to throw out some of the books


    In Montgomery County this week some parents complained that certain novels contained foul language and cover topics — including sex, child abuse, suicide and drug abuse — unsuited for discussion in coed high school classes. [...]

    Posted: December 01, 2009, 5:43pm EST
  • Rose at 20: Beshear

    Over at EdJurist, Justin has begun posting videos from the recent Rose at 20 event. He says,
    Today, the first of those is the Governor of Kentucky, Steve Beshear. The first part of this speech, really the first 7-8 minutes, is absolute gold. I was really highly impressed with [...]
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 2:33pm EST
  • Book Ruckus divides Montgomery County residents

    This from Jim Warren at the Herald-Leader:A dispute over books at Montgomery County High School has embroiled parents, teachers, students and others over the past several months, extending to authors and censorship groups at the national level.

    The continuing ruckus revolves around contemporary, [...]
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 1:44pm EST
  • Governor pegs Covington's Meyer for post

    This from the Enquirer:
    Joe Meyer, deputy secretary of Kentucky's Education and Workforce Development Cabinet for the past year, was named by Gov. Steve Beshear this week as secretary of the cabinet.

    He replaces Helen Mountjoy, who left the post [last] week.
    Meyer, [...]
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 1:19pm EST
  • Teacher loses his license for alleged sexting

    This from the Daily-Independent:

    The Boyd County teacher accused of sending sexually charged text messages to a middle school student has lost his Kentucky teaching credentials forever, state records show.

    Minutes of the Sept. 14 meeting of the Kentucky Educational Professional Standards Board, posted online, show that Creth [...]

    Posted: November 30, 2009, 1:16pm EST
  • A Crash Course in Texting

    This from the Henry County Local:

    A 16-year old male driver was typing a text message into his phone when he almost rear-ended a motorcycle, veered off the right side of the road then hit a deer.

    A 16-year old girl fared little better, [...]

    Posted: November 30, 2009, 1:11pm EST
  • Host of schools support fight to keep superintendent evaluations private

    OK...but shouldn't the education groups really be pushing for new legislation? Isn't it the language in the law, rather than the ruling, that needs fixing?

    This from the Courier-Journal:

    The Kentucky Department of Education, its board and a host of school boards from around the state are seeking [...]

    Posted: November 30, 2009, 12:41pm EST
  • Quick Hits

    Report - States on track with improved education data systems: A report shows that states are making progress on compiling student data, with most on track to have systems in place to monitor yearly student performance beginning in 2011. Since 2005, the number of states collecting data showing the strongest [...]
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 12:23pm EST
  • Happy Thanksgiving

    President Abraham Lincoln had always expressed the quandary of God’s presence during the Civil War.
    In September 1862 Lincoln was increasingly concerned by the tremendous growth of causalities. Following the disastrous loss at the second battle of Bull Run he wrote a [...]
    Posted: November 25, 2009, 6:42pm EST
  • Unfinished Business

    By Penney Sanders

    When the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) was enacted in 1990, a founding principle was that “no child shall remain in a failing school…”.

    At that time the public perception was that Kentucky was full of failing schools. While there was little data to quantify [...]

    Posted: November 24, 2009, 7:34pm EST
  • Wis. teacher's aide accused of having sex with 12-year-old boy

    This from City Pages:​ Former River Falls teacher's aide Rebecca Ann O'Malley-Tietz has been arrested and charged with first degree sexual assault of a child. The boy, a student of River Falls School District's Harbor Program, where O'Malley-Tietz worked, was 12 years old at [...]
    Posted: November 22, 2009, 6:26pm EST
  • Study: Students lose ground at charters

    This from NKy.com:
    Ohio's charter schools and magnet schools get a head start on public schools, a new study asserts, because they attract kindergartners who score higher on readiness tests than theirs peers at regular public schools.

    The Ready to Learn study, a report by Policy Matters Ohio [...]
    Posted: November 22, 2009, 6:19pm EST
  • Walking girl to school — and into history

    This from the Herald-Leader, Photo by Steve Ueckert:

    U.S. MARSHAL FROM KENTUCKY

    HONORED FOR ROLE IN

    INTEGRATING SOUTH

    The Norman Rockwell print titled "The Problem We All Live With" features a small, black girl walking between four very tall men.

    The little girl [...]

    Posted: November 22, 2009, 6:07pm EST
  • School News from Around Kentucky

    Way to Go Ryland and Hinsdale: Kenton County schools know how to contribute to the community. Children Inc. recently recognized eight Kenton County schools as a School of Contribution at the 2009 Northern Kentucky Celebration of Philanthropy. Twenty eight schools were named School of Contribution out of the 60 schools [...]
    Posted: November 22, 2009, 8:49am EST
  • What a Lecture Hall is Supposed to Look Like

    Miami's new business buliding was the venue for Doug Eder's presentation on the Joys of Assessment yesterday. Very nice. The photos show the left-hand third of the room.

    Eder, who is on the neuroscience faculty at Southern Illinois University, suggested some old school measures to [...]
    Posted: November 22, 2009, 7:44am EST
  • Natural Resources

    This from Mike Thompson at Slate:
    [...]
    Posted: November 20, 2009, 8:35pm EST
  • Pictures of Lilly


    EKU's Charlie Sweet and Hal Blythe chat up Miami's Milton Cox at the Lilly Conference. [...]
    Posted: November 20, 2009, 5:35pm EST
  • Student Protest Blocks Regents After 32% Tuition Hike

    This from MSNBC:
    University of Calif. OKs 32 percent tuition hike
    Some officials blocked by students from leaving UCLA building

    As hundreds of students demonstrated outside, University of California leaders on Thursday voted to approve a 32 percent hike in undergraduate fees, arguing the [...]

    Posted: November 19, 2009, 6:45pm EST
  • Race to the Top Guidelines

    While I've been busy being swamped by advising, evaluating, and marrying off a daughter - others have been hard at work.

    This week the US Department of Education finally released the application for Race to the Top (RTTT) grant funding. Susan Weston has the scorecard at Prichard.[...]
    Posted: November 19, 2009, 11:33am EST
  • Quick Hits

    ...starting to get caught back up after last week's wedding.

    Department of Education to request school salary data: The Department of Education is planning to require school districts receiving federal Title I stimulus money to report the salaries of teachers and staff. It is expected that the data will [...]
    Posted: November 17, 2009, 7:01pm EST
  • School News from Around Kentucky

    Beshear asks some agencies to plan for 6 percent cuts this year: Gov. Steve Beshear notified some state agencies Friday to plan for 6 percent cuts to their current budgets to make up for an estimated $161 million revenue shortfall this fiscal year. However, many of the state's major spending [...]

    Posted: November 16, 2009, 6:04pm EST
  • Congratulations Lizzie and Rob

    ...with "Pop" and Mother of the groom, Alice Edwards [...]
    Posted: November 16, 2009, 5:52pm EST
  • Sunday Stroll



    This from the Eastern Progress:
    Anglin Falls is a spectacular afternoon hike that often goes unnoticed due to its [...]
    Posted: November 08, 2009, 6:06pm EST
  • Build a Value-Added Assessment System for P-12 Before Moving on to Teacher Prep Institutions

    "A key assumption of using test scores to judge teachers is that students are randomly assigned, first, to schools, and, second, to classes. Neither is true."
    Recently, there has been increased talk of holding teacher preparation institutions accountable for the performance of Kentucky teachers - in effect holding colleges [...]
    Posted: November 07, 2009, 11:15am EST
  • Does CNN's Anderson Cooper Shape His News?

    Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday was supposed to be on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 the other night.

    Then, he wasn't.

    Here's the way his non-appearance rolled out, according to Holliday.

    This from Commissioner Holliday's Fast Five for Friday email:


    Anderson Cooper [...]

    Posted: November 07, 2009, 10:33am EST
  • Commissioner Contemplations

    Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday is still on the road; meeting, greeting, getting to know more and more Kentuckians.

    Say what you will, but I think most Kentucky political observers will tell you that this is a necessary component of effective advocacy in the commonwealth. So much depends on [...]
    Posted: November 07, 2009, 9:46am EST
  • More Travels with Shelly

    Back in May, Page One Kentucky was raising questions about the amount (and nature) of travel Jefferson County Superintendent Shelly Berman was engaed in - what with all the failing schools and other pressing business in Louisville and all.

    At Page One, Jake Payne counted "a total of" [...]
    Posted: November 06, 2009, 1:33pm EST
  • Quick Hits

    Does sorting students by ability exacerbate achievement gaps?: Educators in a New Jersey district are questioning whether grouping students by ability -- called leveling or tracking -- may be perpetuating racial achievement gaps, but teachers and parents are divided on whether embracing mixed-ability classes will solve the problem. Raising expectations [...]
    Posted: November 06, 2009, 1:18pm EST
  • School News from Around Kentucky

    Former Dunbar coach pleads guilty: Former Paul Laurence Dunbar High School baseball coach Mickey Marshall pleaded guilty Friday to two misdemeanor charges of theft "by failure to make a required disposition" involving money from the baseball booster club. Marshall, who led the Lexington school to two state championships and was [...]
    Posted: November 06, 2009, 12:38pm EST
  • Evangelists stir up controversy among students

    Students have returned to the plaza today to confront the preacher who caused a stir over the past two days by barking condemnations at all who would listen. Yesterday, students chose to return the favor.

    But according to the PinPoint Evangelism calendar, the preacher is not scheduled to return [...]
    Posted: November 05, 2009, 11:40am EST
  • Free Speech Zone: Alive and Well at EKU

    I had heard about this guy.
    When the recent flap over free speech on campus errupted and EKU's "Free Speech Zone" was misinterpreted by campus police as precluding students from protesting outside of certain designated areas, President Whitlock clarified that the restriction only applies to folks who were not' [...]
    Posted: November 04, 2009, 10:21am EST
  • Happy 275th Birthday Dan'l

    This from the Adventures of Daniel Boone:
    Curiosity is natural to the soul of man and interesting objects have a powerful influence on our affections. Let these influencing powers actuate, by the permission or disposal of Providence, from selfish or social views, yet in time the [...]
    Posted: November 02, 2009, 11:34am EST
  • Teach Your Teachers Well

    This from the New York Times:
    Arne Duncan, the secretary of education, recently called for sweeping changes to the way we select and train teachers. He’s right. If we really want good schools, we need to create a critical mass of great teachers. And [...]
    Posted: November 02, 2009, 10:18am EST
  • Judge sets Feb. 1 trial for former U of L dean

    Felner faces fraud, tax evasion, money laundering charges

    This from Nancy at C-J:

    A trial date has been set for former University of Louisville education dean Robert Felner, who was indicted last year on 10 counts of mail fraud, money-laundering conspiracy and income tax evasion.

    The trial is [...]

    Posted: November 02, 2009, 8:00am EST
  • Kentucky's Lowered CATS Standards Remained Relatively High

    Over at Prichard, Susan Weston has been looking into the lowering of academic standards in Kentucky circa 2007.

    You will recall, that is the time Kentucky was switching from the old CATS to the new (and not improved) CATS - thanks largely to NCLB's strictures screwing up a' [...]
    Posted: November 02, 2009, 7:23am EST
  • Former Male Principal repeatedly investigated for inappropriate conduct

    This from Adam Walser at WHAS-TV by way of KSBA:

    New allegations arise about Male High principal's pastWHAS11 has learned that Jefferson County Public Schools reprimanded David Wilson more than three years before recent serious incidents led to his early retirement.
    We got a tip from a' [...]
    Posted: October 31, 2009, 9:57am EDT
  • Quick Hits

    Federal data shows a third of states lowered achievement standards: Many states lowered their standards on state math or reading tests from 2005 to 2007, according to data compiled by the Department of Education. While a number of states adopted stricter standards during the same time period, "overall, standards were" [...]
    Posted: October 31, 2009, 9:26am EDT
  • Turnover in principalship focus of research

    This from Education Week by way of KSBA:

    ...Data available from a handful of states suggest that only about half of beginning principals remain in the same job five years later, and that many leave the principalship altogether when they go.

    “I talk to a lot of [...]
    Posted: October 31, 2009, 9:23am EDT
  • BS from GS

    ...but no mention of what Kentucky really needs to help avoid this annual drama. Barring a political miracle - legislative leaders who actually want to solve long-standing revenue problems - Kentucky will still not have what it needs; a new tax code.

    This from Speaker Stumbo in C-J:[...]
    Posted: October 31, 2009, 9:10am EDT

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