Commissioner's Monday Message

Oct. 9, 2023

Dear Colleagues,

Today has been an exciting day at KDE. Our 2024 Teacher of the Year Kevin Dailey, a middle school social studies teacher at Ballyshannon Middle School (Boone County), was at the department today to meet with staff and begin thinking over the things he would like to focus on during his year of service.

Dailey has taught in Boone County Schools since 2019 and has been in education for the past 10 years.

Dailey likes to talk about how, as a child, he never thought he would become a teacher. But he took a computer repair class his sophomore year of high school with a teacher named Linda Foxx, who changed his view on education and life. For the first time, he said, he felt seen as who he was, not where he came from or whose son he was. She saw him and that changed his life.

When I was talking to him earlier today, Dailey told me that his goal in the classroom is to make sure his students feel seen and know that they matter. No matter who you are – whether you’re a student, a teacher, a bus driver or a custodian – everyone has an innate need to know they belong and feel that what they are doing matters. I find that thought inspirational and I hope you do too.

Public schools and our educators have and continue to make real and lasting changes in their students’ lives. Dailey is just one example of that. I look forward to getting to know him better over the next year.

I also want to remind you that the next Kentucky Board of Education meeting starts tomorrow, Oct. 10, at 1 p.m. ET, where they will be discussing their goals and legislative priorities, among other items. The board will reconvene at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 11, to review such things as educator preparation efforts on early literacy and to hear an update on the National Board Certification Early Entry Grant.

As always, you can watch the Kentucky Board of Education meeting on the KDE Media Portal.

Kind regards,

Robin Kinney

Interim Commissioner of Education

2023-2024 Title I, Part A Comparability Report Due Nov. 1

Section 1118 of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires districts to provide services using state and local funds to Title I schools that, taken as a whole, are at least comparable to services in schools that are not receiving Title I funds. Districts demonstrate the comparability of services by submitting the required comparability report in each of its schools using general funds.

The 2023-2024 comparability report checklist, the guide for completing it and instructions for submitting the report in GMAP can be found on the Title I, Part A Documents and Resources webpage. The comparability report workbook is in the Grant Management Application and Planning (GMAP) district document library. Districts must submit the report for approval in GMAP by Nov. 1.

For more information, refer to the Kentucky Department of Education’s (KDE’s) Comparability Report Tutorial. Contact your KDE Title I, Part A consultant at (502) 564-3791 for more information about completing or submitting the 2023-2024 comparability report.

School District Boundary Review Changes Due by Nov. 3

The National Center for Education Statistics sponsors the School District Review Program (SDRP), which helps the U.S. Census Bureau create poverty and population estimates by school district geography. The poverty and population estimates produced by the Census Bureau are of vital importance for each state’s allocation under Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act as amended (Public Law 114-95).

The SDRP enables the Kentucky Department of Education to review the Census Bureau’s school district information and report any updates or corrections to the district’s Federal School District Local Education Agency (SDLEA) ID numbers, school district boundaries, names, levels or grade ranges. Any updates must reflect school district information as it will exist on Jan. 1, 2024.

Superintendents are encouraged to review their district’s boundaries using the TIGERweb application on the Census Bureau website.

There are 11 types of school district changes. If any of the 11 types of changes need to be made for your district, email Margalee Conlee by Nov. 3 Include “SDRP” in the subject line of the email.

School Report Card – Public Release Tentative Dates

The School Report Card public release is tentatively set for Nov. 1. The embargo review period for media and district review will begin on Monday, Oct. 30 and end Tuesday, Oct. 31 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Schools and districts should have completed review of the Overview, Education Opportunity, Transition to Adult Life and Safety domains in the Kentucky School Report Card (SRC) Data Approval Tool. The tool remains open for final verification and updates to collection data. Any remaining questions can be directed to the applicable Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) point of contact in the Quality Assurance Worksheet.

All data for these domains is now available; this includes data recently loaded for:

• Overview/Faculty, Staff and Community/Equity > Inexperienced Staff (district-level disproportionality). This is new in the SRC this year; and
• Overview/Faculty, Staff and Community/Equity > Students Taught by Ineffective Teachers.

Please use the “Preview Dashboard” feature (top right) to ensure that school and district contact information represents the current principal and superintendent name.

The KDE Office of Assessment and Accountability team will work directly with district assessment coordinators to review Academic Performance and Accountability data during quality control (QC) day, tentatively scheduled for Oct. 17.

NOTE: All School Profile Reports should now be available in the local board office. Unsigned copies also will be available in the SRC when it is public.

CONTACTS:

• Email BrightBytes support with system questions.
• Email dacinfo@education.ky.gov with questions regarding assessment/accountability QC day.
• Email KDE Standards Team for School Profile Report questions.
• Email Tessa Harris with questions on National Board or Equity data.
• Email Holly Tracy or Claude Christian with questions on CTE/Career Pathways, Readiness and Transition data.
• Email Jessi Carlton for Principal/Superintendent updates and Graduate Counts
• Email KDE Data Services for general questions.
• Contact your local district WAAPOC for user account set up. The KETS Service Desk is available to assist WAAPOCs.

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.

School-Based Mental Health Professional Use of Time Survey Due Nov. 1

Per KRS 158.4416(3)(e), the local school district superintendent shall report to the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) no later than Nov. 1:

• The number of school-based mental health service providers;
• The position held;
• Placement in the district;
• Certification or licensure held;
• The source of funding for each position;
• A summary of the job duties and work undertaken by each school-based mental health service provider; and
• The approximate percentage of time devoted to each duty over the course of the year.

This School-Based Mental Health Services Provider Professional Use of Time Survey has been created by KDE so that each school district's superintendent can fulfill this requirement. At the link provided, there is a “Read Me First” tab, which gives instructions on how to best complete this process. Please submit your spreadsheet via email attachment to KDEResearch@education.ky.gov.

For technical questions or assistance, please contact Leslie McKinney. If you require clarification or have any questions regarding the survey, please contact Michelle Sircy.

Assistant Principal Cohort Kickoff Scheduled for Oct. 24

Do you know of an assistant principal who is looking for professional learning specific to their role and responsibilities? If so, the Assistant Principal Cohort Kickoff – scheduled for 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. ET on Oct. 24 at the Kentucky Department of Education – is the ideal professional experience.

The Principal Partnership Project (P3) team invites all assistant principals to be part of a free day of learning that will include staff from the Kentucky Department of Education sharing resources and specific supports for assistant principals. Attendees will have numerous opportunities to network with other assistant principals and engage in authentic learning experiences designed to support the complexities and uniqueness of the assistant principal position. Lunch will be provided. Effective Instructional Leadership Act (EILA) credit will be awarded.

Questions may be directed to Stacy Noah or Keith Greisser.

Deadline Set for Applications for the 2023 Clean School Bus Rebates

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is accepting applications for the 2023 Clean School Bus Rebate Program until 4 p.m. ET Jan. 31.

With funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA’s Clean School Bus (CSB) Program will provide $5 billion over five years (FY 2022-2026) to replace existing school buses with zero-emission and low-emission models.

Under the program's first funding opportunity in 2022, the EPA awarded up to $965 million to fund school bus replacements at nearly 400 schools.

The EPA anticipates awarding at least $500 million under the 2023 CSB program, with selectees expected to be announced by early 2024.

Share your ESSER Stories

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) is sharing how schools and districts are using funds they received through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding.

If you would like to share how your schools or district is using ESSER money to help students succeed, send your information to Chief Communications Officer Toni Konz Tatman.

Sign Up Now for School Improvement Planning for Performance Excellence Training

A two-day School Improvement Planning for Performance Excellence training session will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET on Nov. 28-29 at the Central Bank Center in Lexington.

This training will assist leadership teams in an increased understanding of how to apply the performance excellence systems approach to continuous improvement. This training will focus on an increased understanding of the role of the school improvement plan by developing school improvement goals, creating strategies, and developing and implementing action plans toward increasing achievement for all students and organizational effectiveness.

Tools used during the sessions will include the appropriate Jim Shipley workbooks, Teams System Check, linkage diagram and the plan-do-study-act process. Additionally, the work session content will include activities around leadership team building, using needs assessment practices, building school mission statements, assessment of the school as a system and use of the performance excellence criteria in a systematic way. The content will be from Jim Shipley and Associates led by certified Kentucky Department of Education facilitators.

Each attendee interested in participating must fill out the School Improvement Planning for Performance Excellence registration form no later than Nov. 17. Questions regarding the training should be directed to Charlotte Jones.

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.