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Dear Colleagues,
Last week during a monthly meeting with Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) staff we call Conversations with the Commissioner, I had the distinct pleasure of having a conversation with our 2023 Kentucky Teacher of the Year Mandy Perez.
Mandy, a 6th-grade English and language arts teacher at Crittenden County Middle School, has been at working with staff at KDE since January as her sabbatical, which is part of the Teacher of the Year award. As part of her platform, she has been spending her time focusing on encouraging teachers to shine a light on why they choose to stay in the classroom.
I understand why she chose this particular platform. For years now, we’ve increasingly heard reporters and KDE staff sounding the alarm about teacher shortages and the lack of students wanting to enter into the teaching profession. And both locally and nationally, education is often one of the central talking points of those seeking higher office. What they say about education and the teachers who have dedicated their lives to helping Kentucky’s students often can feel derogatory and hurtful.
“One common thread for all of us is lack of trust of teachers in the profession,” Mandy said. “People are blaming them for having an agenda. We go in every day to teach children to become self-sufficient individuals.”
It’s a feeling I’m sure you’ve heard discussed in your schools. But my discussion with Mandy wasn’t about despair, it was about hope. It was a reminder to me of why I went into education all those years ago.
Mandy’s love for her students is so strong that she says she has plastic boxes at home filled with all of the things her students made for her. As the husband of a teacher, I know exactly what she’s talking about. After 19 years in the classroom, Mandy says those small mementos are a reminder that her students love her as much as she loves them.
One thing that really struck me was Mandy’s sense of hope and optimism about her students and teaching. Here was her advice for new teachers:
- Surround yourself with greatness, people who are good at what they do and are passionate about what they do.
- Focus on your successes, not your failures.
- Not every day is good, but there is at least one good thing that happens every single day.
- Find your joy every single day in the classroom. There’s always something that can lift us up every day.
That advice isn’t just great for new teachers. It’s good for all of us to remember why we’re involved in education and to treasure those successes, no matter how small.
So, while we’re winding up this school year, please take a moment to remember that what we do, what our teachers do, matters in the lives of the children who walk through the front door of our schools every day. Some days may be harder than others, but even those hard days are important in the lives of our students.
Thank you for what you, your teachers and your staff do for the children of Kentucky.
Kind regards,
Jason E. Glass, Ed.D.
Commissioner and Chief Learner
Forums to Be Held in Search for New Kentucky School for the Deaf Principal
KDE is inviting stakeholders to participate in community forums to gather feedback on the qualities they would like to see in the next principal of the Kentucky School for the Deaf (KSD).
The input of students, staff, families and the Deaf/Hard of Hearing community will be incorporated throughout the process so we can make critical and informed decisions throughout the search.
Two forums will provide an opportunity for stakeholders to voice their input:
- Virtual forum: Wednesday, May 24, from 6-7 p.m. ET via Zoom
- In-person forum: Wednesday, May 31, from 7-8 p.m. ET, in the gymnasium at the Kentucky School for the Deaf, 303 S. 2nd St., Danville
To register for the forums, please complete the KSD Virtual Forum registration form.
All the information gathered from the Kentucky School for the Deaf – Principal Profile Survey (which closes at 11 p.m. ET on Friday, June 2) and the two forums will be used by the hiring committee while interviewing candidates to ensure KSD has the principal who will be the best fit for the school and the students it serves,
Priority consideration will be given to candidates with Deaf/Hard of Hearing education experience or American Sign Language (ASL) skills. The full job posting is available on KDE's website.
KDE hopes to have a new principal in place at KSD by July 1.
Schools Encouraged to Submit Best Practices
The Kentucky Department of Education’s Best Practices and Sustainability website is open for submission of best practices from schools and districts.
The Best Practices website is designed to serve as a clearinghouse to promote practices that motivate, engage and provide measurable results in student learning, achievement and school/district processes. Any aspect of a school system that can impact student outcomes through improved instruction or operations can be submitted as a best practice.
Best practices should be submitted to the Best Practices database by June 1 to be considered for acknowledgement at the Continuous Improvement Summit, scheduled for Sept. 25-26. For more information, email Natasha Stein.
Survey Deadline on Request for Reconsideration Forms is June 6
On May 9, analysts from the Legislative Oversight and Investigations Committee (LOIC) sent out a survey designed to get quick information from superintendents regarding the Request for Reconsideration (08.2311 AP.1) and Reconsideration Decision (08.2322 AP.23) forms that are submitted to and by school principals.
These forms are part of the formal process by which parents submit concerns regarding classroom instructional or library materials to schools, and by which school principals make formal decisions in response.
The survey results will help inform the LOIC’s current curriculum study, and all communication, responses and information obtained will be confidential. Please complete the optional survey by June 6. The Committee greatly appreciates your participation and feedback.
For questions, contact Shane Stevens or Gerald Hoppmann.
Data Submission System on Civil Rights Data Collection to Open May 15-June 30
In preparation for the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) for the 2021–2022 school year, the CRDC data submission system will be open Monday, May 15, through Friday, June 30, for registration.
This is a Local Education Agency (LEA) collection and begins with the registration process through the CRDC data submission system. The process allows LEAs to update their contact profile and contact information for their schools in preparation for the 2021–2022 CRDC.
At this time, the Office of Civil Rights anticipates that the CRDC data submission system will open in the winter of 2023 for LEAs to submit data for the 2021–2022 CRDC. KDE will continue to assist by preloading data available at the state level to reduce the burden on Kentucky districts.
District contacts should have received an email last week and will receive another one this week with account login instructions. If you do not receive an email, please contact the Partner Support Data Center (PSC). The PSC is available to answer questions, help with usernames, update contacts and provide technical support. When contacting the PSC, have your seven-digit NCES LEA identifier readily available.
To find your seven-digit identifier, go to the Kentucky Department of Education’s Open House directory webpage and select “Click here for NCES ID codes.”
You can contact the PSC by email or phone at (855) 255-6901 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. (ET). Questions for KDE can be sent by email to data services.
Free Leadership Development Through National Institute for School Leadership
The Kentucky Department of Education’s Office of Continuous Improvement and Support has partnered with the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE) to implement its National Institute for School Leadership (NISL) program.
This initiative provides leadership development to school and district leaders based on a national research-based curriculum, and has been in place in Kentucky for the past 13 years in three regions. NCEE’s NISL program is the most widely used research-proven professional learning program for school leaders in the country.
This experience prepares leaders to create and lead high-performing organizations, improve instruction, leverage data-driven decision-making, improve student and school culture and focus on equity.
The monthly interactive experience focuses on the key themes for capacity-building and for transforming the school as an organization while improving student success.
School and district staff interested in participating in this free professional learning are encouraged to complete the National Institute for School Leadership interest form no later than June 2. Questions regarding the training opportunity should be directed to Charlotte Jones.
Author Zaretta Hammond Leading Session at Design for Engagement: The Series
Zaretta Hammond, author of “Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain,” will be taking part in the four-day learning event, “Designing for Engagement: The Series,” in June at the Green River Region Educational Cooperative in Bowling Green.
The event for instructional leaders, principals and teachers will be held June 27-30. Hammond will lead the one-day session, "Designing for Engagement in the Culturally Responsive Classroom," on the third day, June 29, along with John Antonetti.
Participants may register for all the “Designing for Engagement: The Series” sessions or just for the June 29 session with Hammond. The registration deadline is June 16.
The sessions are:
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June 27 -28: “Designing for Engagement in Co-taught Classroom” with Antonetti, John O'Connor and Darbie Valenti Huff
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June 29: “Designing for Engagement in Culturally Responsive Classroom” with Hammond, Antonetti and Huff
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June 30: “Designing for Engagement in Deeper Learning Classroom” with Antonetti, Destin Sandlin and Huff
The cost for participants from the GRREC district is $200 per person for one session, and $100 per additional session. For non-GRREC districts, the cost is $300 per person and $150 per additional session.
Participants can earn up to 28 hours of Effective Instructional Leadership Act (EILA) credit for these sessions, and up to 96 EILA hours for follow-up professional development and Walk to Learn days.
This event is partially funded by GRREC with additional funds from STEM-CS, Special Education, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging and Deeper Learning grants.
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