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Dear Colleagues,
This week will be a busy one at the Kentucky Department of Education. First, I am pleased to announce that Matt Ross will be stepping in as associate commissioner in the Office of Finance and Operations (OFO) and Todd Allen has agreed to serve in dual roles of general counsel and deputy commissioner, alongside Thomas Woods Tucker, while I serve as interim commissioner of education. Both Ross and Allen began serving in their positions today.
I am looking forward to continuing to work with Ross in this new position. He is an excellent choice to keep OFO running smoothly, and he will help ensure that our services to you and your districts continue uninterrupted during this transition period.
You are likely aware of the outstanding service that Allen has provided to local school districts and you probably have worked with him over the years. The deputy commissioner’s role will include assisting me in preparing the department for a smooth transition to the next permanent commissioner of education.
Next, I hope you saw our press release last week about the ACT scores for the 2023 graduating class. I was pleased to see that not only did we test more students last school year, but we also posted a statewide average composite score was 18.7, marking an improvement from 18.6 in 2022. A total of 54 Kentucky students achieved a perfect score of 36. Of the eight states that test all of their graduates, Kentucky’s average composite score ranked it second behind Wyoming, a state with 87% fewer students tested than the Commonwealth.
And speaking of test scores, we are getting near to the release of accountability and assessment data for the 2022-2023 school year. Quality control day, where you will get your first look at the data for your schools and district, is scheduled for Oct. 17. On Monday, Oct. 30, you will be able to see the entire state’s data under embargo beginning at 8 a.m. ET. Reporters will get access to the same data under embargo at noon ET the same day. The accountability and assessment data will be released publicly at 10 p.m. ET on Oct. 31.
Just a reminder, the next Superintendents Webcast is set up for 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Oct. 17. This should be a fairly short webcast this month. We will have our usual updates from KDE, more information about the counselor’s use of time survey and a reminder about the comprehensive reading program deadline. You should have a link to the webcast in your email and, as usual, it will be available to watch and archived on the KDE Media Portal.
And finally, I will be meeting with the Commissioner’s Student Advisory Council at 9 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 18. We will be discussing the goals and priorities of the Kentucky Board of Education and discuss what type of project the council would like to work on this school year. If you would like to watch the meeting, you can see it or watch the archived meeting on the KDE Media Portal.
Sincerely,
Robin Kinney
Interim Commissioner of Education
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 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.
Educators Rising State Conference Call for Presenters
The Educators Rising Kentucky State Conference is scheduled for March 6, 2024, at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville.
If you are interested in presenting at the conference, proposals are currently being accepted. Topics can be directed toward either the student path or in-service teacher strand, or one that can be for all conference attendees.
Some topics may include, but are not limited to:
Student path:
- Developing durable/employability skills
- Public speaking
- Building your personal brand
- Personal and professional life balance
- Effective communication
- Amplifying student voices
In-service teacher strand:
- Professional development
- Understanding your role as teacher leader
- Starting a new Educators Rising chapter
- Developing meaningful clinical experiences
- Developing Student Leaders
- Helping students prepare for competition events
If you are interested in submitting a proposal, please go to Educators Rising Kentucky State Conference 2024 Presenters Application Form.
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.
KDE Seeking Nominations for 2024 U.S. Presidential Scholars
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) is seeking nominations for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program.
This is not a scholarship; however, all scholars will be honored for their accomplishments during the National Recognition Program, to be held in June 2024 in Washington, D.C. Presidential Scholars will be guests of the commissioner of the U.S. Department of Education during the National Recognition Program and enjoy an expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to meet with government officials, educators and other accomplished people. To commemorate their achievement, the scholars are awarded the U.S. Presidential Scholars medallion at a ceremony sponsored by the White House.
Each school may nominate three high school seniors: one male, one female and one career and technical education (CTE) student. Please see the attached suggested CTE criteria. KDE encourages you to nominate students who, while demonstrating outstanding scholarship, might not otherwise be nominated through the current ACT/SAT or arts recognition processes. For the arts component, students must participate in the National Young Arts program.
It may be helpful to consider the following questions:
- What about the student makes him or her stand out as having outstanding scholarship?
- What special challenges or hurdles has this student overcome while still achieving success in academics, career and technical education or in the arts?
To apply, school staff should decide who to recommend and complete a 2023-2024 Presidential Scholars Educator Recommendation for each of the students. As a reminder, a school can recommend up to three students: one male, one female and one CTE student.
Staff should contact the recommended students and ask them to complete the 2023-2024 Presidential Scholars Student Application form. Both forms must be submitted for the student to be considered for nomination by KDE.
KDE will select and submit the names of 25 students to the U.S. Department of Education (USED). All applications must be submitted to USED by Friday, Oct. 27.
For more information, email Kathie Anderson or call her at (502) 564-4970, ext. 4133.
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