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Dear Colleagues,
Once again it is October. School has been back in session for several weeks and we are all back in the habit of the school year and the frantic pace it often entails.
This is the month when our districts will be taking their fall break. The fall is always hectic as we rush toward the holidays and the end of the semester. While all of our schedules may seem hopelessly busy, please remember that you need to take care of yourself before you can take care of others. Take some time to relax and refresh during the break so you will be better able to help your students, educators and staff.
We also will be recognizing principals during October as part of National School Principals Month, which honors the essential role that principals play in making schools a great place for students. In Kentucky, we use this opportunity to celebrate, acknowledge and thank our principals for the work they do for our schools, students, districts and communities. Please share my video thanking principals for their service on your social media channels sometime during the month.
As I am sure you are aware of, this marks my first week as interim commissioner of education. I am dedicated to making sure the great work that this agency does on a daily basis continues. Those in our districts should not notice any change in the supports or services we provide as the Kentucky Board of Education searches for the next commissioner. As a reminder, stay up to date on the commissioner search on the KDE website.
And finally, today Kentucky Teacher published my first column as commissioner, which is about the 2023 Continuous Improvement Summit. More than 900 of Kentucky’s educators convened at the Central Bank Center in Lexington for the summit, which is cohosted by KDE and Cognia. The conference is the annual kickoff event for all things continuous improvement and is supported by KDE’s Office of Continuous Improvement and Support.
During the summit, KDE also recognized nine best practice winners and gave them an opportunity to showcase their practices that motivate, engage and provide measurable results in student learning, achievement and school/district processes. I want to thank the staff here at KDE who helped create this marvelous learning experience for our educators, and I want to thank our school and district leaders who let their teachers attend the summit.
Kind regards,
Robin Kinney
Interim Commissioner of Education
2023-2024 KDE/Cognia Diagnostic Review Team Member Invitation
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) and Cognia are accepting applications for Diagnostic Review team members to serve during the 2023-2024 school year.
Team members are expected to stay on site for the entirety of the review. Diagnostic Reviews usually occur Monday through Thursday of the week listed:
- Jan. 8
- Jan. 15
- Jan. 22
- Jan. 29
- Feb. 5
- Feb. 12
Distinguished practitioners support the Diagnostic Review process by serving alongside KDE and Cognia staff to examine school/system data, leadership, learning conditions, policies, practices, curriculum and culture that promote student learning.
By using current practitioners – either currently serving or served within the past three years – the team helps build statewide leadership capacity to accelerate student performance, enhance school and system effectiveness, and realize Kentucky’s common strategic goals of college and career readiness for every student.
Practitioners eligible to serve include:
- Principals, assistant principals, all school level administrators, supervisors, coaches, etc.;
- Superintendents, assistant superintendents, all district level administrators, supervisors, directors, etc.;
- Teachers;
- Parents or legal guardians; and
- University representatives.
Scott Trimble Assessment Workshop Set for Oct. 26-27
The 30th anniversary of the Scott Trimble Assessment Workshop will take place Oct. 26-27 at the Crowne Plaza in Louisville.
There will be two pre-conference sessions featuring Jana Beth Francis, Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) staff and Kentucky Association for Assessment Coordinators (KAAC) board members on Oct. 26 at 1-4 p.m. ET.
Sessions begin on Oct. 27 with breakfast keynote speakers KDE Associate Commissioner Rhonda Sims and KDE Division Director Jennifer Stafford. The day will be filled with quality workshop sessions, District Assessment Coordinator and Building Assessment Coordinator of the Year awards, and keynote speaker Micki Ray, who serves as chief academic officer at KDE.
For more information., visit the KAAC website.
Kentucky’s ESSA Waiver Request Approved
The U.S. Department of Education has approved the Kentucky Department of Education’s (KDE’s) request to waive the following program requirements under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA):
- Carryover limitation in section 1127(b) of the ESEA for school year 2022-2023 (Project J) Title I, Part A funds that will become carryover funds on Oct. 1, 2023. This waives the requirement that limits KDE’s ability to grant to its local education agencies (LEAs) a waiver of the 15% Title I, Part A carryover limitation in section 1127(a) to once every three years.
- Period of availability of funds in section 421(b) of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA). This will allow KDE to extend the period of availability of school year 2021-2022 (Project I) funds for the programs listed below in which Kentucky participates under its approved consolidated ESEA state plan. The period of availability will be extended until June 30, 2024. School and district staff who work with these programs must continue to provide assistance to the same populations served by the respective programs. The programs are:
- Title I, Part A of the ESEA (Improving Basic Programs Operated by LEAs), including the portions of the state’s Title I, Part A award used to carry out section 1003 school improvement, and Title I, Part D, Subpart 2;
- Title II, Part A of the ESEA (Supporting Effective Instruction);
- Title III, Part A of the ESEA (English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement and Academic Achievement);
- Title IV, Part A of the ESEA (Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants); and
- Title V, Part B, Subpart 2 of the ESEA (Rural and Low-Income School Program).
- An extension of Kentucky’s previously approved waiver also was granted for two programs. This will allow KDE to extend the period of availability of school year 2020-2021 (Project G) funds for the programs listed below in which Kentucky participates under its approved consolidated ESEA state plan. The period of availability for these funds will be extended until June 30, 2024. The programs are:
- Title III, Part A of the ESEA (English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement); and
- Title IV, Part A of the ESEA (Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants)
Contact the following KDE staff with program-specific questions:
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