Commissioner's Monday Message

July 10, 2023

Dear Colleagues,

Although last week was a little short for us due to the July 4th holiday, it certainly was an eventful one. On July 5, we announced the selection of 22 outstanding Kentucky educators as recipients of the 2024 Kentucky Teacher Achievement Awards. These teachers qualify to compete for the 2024 Kentucky Teacher of the Year Award, which will be announced in September.

The Kentucky Teacher Achievement Awards honor exceptional educators who go above and beyond to support Kentucky’s future leaders. Our educators are among the best in the nation, and we at KDE are proud to recognize and celebrate their tireless efforts in their classrooms and communities.

The 22 winning teachers are:

Elementary School

• Amber Dwyer, Alvaton Elementary (Warren County)
• Katie Hale, Ponderosa Elementary (Boyd County)
• Deanna Landrum, Southgate Public School (Southgate Independent)
• Justin Moreschi, Klondike Lane Elementary (Jefferson County)
• Brittany Ritter, Lincoln Elementary Performing Arts (Jefferson County)
• Donnie Wilkerson, Jamestown Elementary (Russell County)
• Sally Pollett Zaring, Painted Stone Elementary (Shelby County)

Middle School

• Kevin Dailey, Ballyshannon Middle (Boone County)
• Doug Henry, Bullitt Lick Middle (Bullitt County)
• Abby Lee, LaRue County Middle
• Maegan Tepe, Ballyshannon Middle (Boone County)
• Rebecca Clark Thayer, Beaumont Middle (Fayette County)
• Kimberly Thompson, Eastside Middle (Bullitt County)
• Brandi Violette, Olmstead Elementary (Logan County)

High School

• Sara Beth Boggs, Frankfort High (Frankfort Independent)
• Ryan Davis, Waggener High (Jefferson County)]
• Luke Glaser, Hazard High (Hazard Independent)
• Sara Peyton, Rowan County Senior High (Rowan County)
• Kumar Rashad, Breckinridge Metropolitan High (Jefferson County)
• Aretha Whaley, Casey County High
• Kimberly McClellan White, Muhlenberg County High
• Samuel Whitehead, Rowan County Senior High (Rowan County)

The Kentucky Teacher of the Year program is a special one for us at KDE. Over the years, we have had the opportunity to work shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the most innovative educators in the Commonwealth. It is always a delight to see them shape their platform, whether it’s 2023 Teacher of the Year Mandy Perez shining a light on all of the good things happening in the teaching profession, or 2022 Teacher of the Year Willie Edward Taylor Carver Jr.’s focus on traditionally underserved groups.

I look forward to meeting this year’s Teacher Achievement Award winners at the ceremony in September and getting to introduce all of you to the 2024 Kentucky Teacher of the Year.

Also, one quick reminder. Tomorrow, KDE’s Office of Educator Licensure and Effectiveness will be holding a special webcast at 2 p.m. ET for you and your districts to go over any teacher certification questions you may have. Attendees will learn about the various routes to certification, including emergency certification, highly qualified and the alternative routes to certification. This discussion also will contain updates from the Education Professional Standards Board, including flexibility for the upcoming school year.

You will be able to watch the teacher certification webcast on the KDE Media Portal.

Kind regards,

Jason E. Glass, Ed.D.

Commissioner and Chief Learner

Transition Data Collection Reminder

All graduation records should be completed in Infinite Campus (IC) by July 31 for cohort 2022 graduates, specifically the students' transition status.

Schools/districts are only required to collect transition data on graduates that cannot be collected by the Kentucky Center for Statistics (KYSTATS). This includes those that plan to enroll in college outside of Kentucky, enter into military/community/Peace Corps service, enroll in a proprietary technical school, are continuing high school education (grade 14 students) and those students from the cohort that are deceased.

The Kentucky Department of Education is collecting transition status from IC, which will be validated by KYSTATS for the 2022-2023 Kentucky School Report Card reporting. To ensure accurate reporting for districts and students, please verify the transition status is completed on the student's graduation tab in IC (path: Student Information | General | Graduation tab | Transition Status). For assistance, please contact Holly Tracy.

KDE seeking applicants to create Teacher Disciplinary Tribunal Member Pool

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) is seeking qualified applicants to establish a pool of potential teacher members and potential administrator members who wish to be part of KDE’s Teacher Disciplinary Tribunal.

Each tribunal will consist of a teacher member, an administrator member and a hearing officer (an attorney in good standing with the Kentucky Bar Association, licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, who has met the training requirements set forth in 40 KAR 5:010).

Per 701 KAR 5:090, the teacher and administrator positions require impartial members to “make the final determination on charges concerning a local school district’s proposal to discipline or place on involuntary leave a teacher if the teacher gives timely notice of his or her intent to answer the charges.”

The pools shall consist of no more than 20 potential teacher members and 20 administrator members selected by KDE using procedures developed for the receipt, review and selection of applicants.

Current or retired teachers interested in applying for the pool must: “(a) hold a valid teaching certificate issued by the Education Professional Standards Board (EPSB) and be in good standing, or (b) be retired and have held a teaching certificate issued by the EPSB that was not revoked or surrendered as a result of revocation proceedings.”

To become a member of the pool of potential administrator members, one must: “(a) hold a valid teaching certificate for the performance of administrative duties issued by the EPSB and be in good standing, or (b) be retired and have held a teaching certificate for the performance of administrative duties issued by the EPSB that was not revoked or surrendered as a result of revocation proceedings.”

To serve as a member of the pool of potential teacher tribunal members or potential administrator tribunal members, an individual must complete training approved by KDE on the following topics:

• The hearing process;
• The role of the tribunal;
• The role of the hearing officer;
• How to determine facts;
• Fundamental fairness,
• The law on teacher disciplinary actions set forth at KRS 161.790;
• The professional code of ethics for Kentucky school certified personnel set forth in 16 KAR 1:020; and
• The deliberative process.

An individual attending KDE approved training shall receive a per diem of $100 and reimbursement of travel expenses, if applicable. The local school district hosting each hearing shall advise the teacher and administrator tribunal member how to claim their per diem and travel expenses.

If you are interested in becoming a member of the pool of potential teacher members or potential administrator members, please download and fill out the Teacher Tribunal Application and send it to:

Teacher Tribunal Application c/o Sara Bentley Office of Legal Services 300 Sower Blvd., 5th Floor, Frankfort, KY 40601

The deadline to apply is July 21, 2023. Mailed applications postmarked after July 21, 2023, will not be considered.

KDE will accept applications by email to Sarah Bentley. These must be sent no later than 5 p.m. on the application deadline. Applicants will be notified of whether they were selected for the pool of potential members on or before Aug. 4, 2023.

EPSB Waiver Requests Due by July 13

The Education Professional Standards Board (EPSB) plans to hold a special meeting on July 21 to resolve pending certification issues before the start of the 2023-2024 school year. This meeting will focus on waiver requests, alternative routes to certification applications and character and fitness.

To ensure that your request is included in the July meeting, waiver requests must be sent to Todd Davis by the close of business on July 13. After July, the EPSB will not meet again until Aug. 21.

Facility Training Survey Open Until July 13

Kentucky school districts come in many geographical areas and sizes and also have vastly different budget constraints. As such, each district has unique facility needs.

Please take this brief survey to determine what kind of facility training you are interested in obtaining. This will help the Kentucky Department of Education focus its future sessions to meet your facility training needs.

In order to have timely training opportunities available, please complete the survey no later than July 13.

New High School Feedback Reports are Available for Review

The Kentucky Center for Statistics (KYSTATS) is providing High School Feedback Reports for the graduating class of 2021 for district review. The review window is through Aug. 11, with the public release planned for later that month.

This year, districts are asked to review the report on college going and success for the high school graduating class of 2021. The report compares: student outcomes including college-going rates, types of schools attended, how students performed in their first year at in-state public colleges and universities, and financial aid received by students.

Access to these reports is through a secure KYSTATS weblink. District assessment coordinators are being provided with the URL and password to access the reports and are asked to download these reports to share with principals and superintendents for review.

These reports should be considered draft. All district reports are currently viewable through the link, but reports may change if data issues are found. These draft reports are for internal review only and should not be shared until public release.

If you have questions, please contact Barrett Ross at KYSTATS.

2023 Continuous Improvement Summit: Save the Date and Registration Link

Mark your calendars to attend the annual Kentucky Continuous Improvement Summit. Co-hosted by the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) and Cognia, the summit will be held Sept. 25-26 at the Central Bank Center in downtown Lexington.

During this two-day event, attendees will enhance their professional learning, make new connections and build upon existing relationships with peers across Kentucky. They also will hear up-to-date information from KDE leaders and learn how Cognia can help address unique challenges in their journey of continuous improvement. Please join us for this opportunity to explore a variety of topics, engage in conversations that will enrich your understanding of continuous improvement, and be energized by the keynote speaker, Mike Rutherford.

Registration is available on the 2023 Kentucky Continuous Improvement Summit event webpage.

Those receiving this at KSB and KSD, please make sure all employees receive it. Also, ATC principals are asked to forward it to their staffs.

Please send your questions, comments and suggestions on the Monday Message to Jennifer Ginn by 10 a.m. Friday to be published in the upcoming week.