Commissioner's Monday Message

Nov. 6, 2023

Dear Colleagues,

I was pleased to meet for the first time as interim commissioner with the Kentucky Department of Education’s (KDE’s) Kentucky United We Learn Council last week.

The council is tasked with recommending strategic practice, policy and investment ideas that advance Kentucky’s United We Learn vision of creating a more vibrant experience for every student, encouraging innovation in schools – especially when it comes to assessment – and creating a bold new future for the Commonwealth’s schools through collaboration with communities. The council itself is made up of educators, community members, families and students.

One of the things I appreciate most about the Kentucky United We Learn Council and the United We Learn vision is the emphasis on family and community engagement.

Schools, especially in the Commonwealth’s more rural areas, are usually the heart of the community. School districts often are a county’s biggest employer. They prepare the community’s students for their future careers. And the high school football fields and gymnasiums are where people in the community gather for games or concerts throughout the year.

November is being celebrated as Family Engagement Month, which recognizes the crucial role families play in our schools. Education, as we all know, does not just happen inside the four walls of our schools. Education, at its best, involves our educators, our families and our communities working together to give our students the experiences and knowledge they need to pursue their dreams.

During November, let us all reach out to our families and let them know how much we appreciate their involvement, as well as think about more ways to make it easier and more meaningful for our families to become involved with their student’s education. Together, we can create the type of education system our students need and deserve.

Sincerely,

Robin Fields Kinney

Interim Commissioner of Education

Final Federal Cash Request Deadline for ESSER II

As indicated on the Grant Award Notification for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER II) Fund (MUNIS Project Number 554G and 554GD), the final Federal Cash Request must be submitted to the Kentucky Department of Education by Nov. 17, 2023.

If you have questions, please contact Ken Greene.

School Report Card – SRC Sharing Requirements

Again, thanks to all of the school and district staff who contributed to the success of the 2022-2023 Kentucky School Report Card (SRC) release.

As a reminder, please ensure SRC sharing requirements are met. Districts must:

• Post SRC links to school and district webpages (if previously posted URLs include year, it is recommended that they be updated to 2023);
• Share the SRC with parents; and
• Publish a link in the newspaper with the largest circulation in the county.

Other final reminders were shared with district assessment coordinators and school report card contacts last week.

Comprehensive Improvement Planning: Phase Two Deadline was Nov. 1

Phase two of the Comprehensive Improvement Planning process involves assessing the needs of the district, schools, staff and students.

Even though the public release of the Kentucky School Report Card (SRC) came at the end of this phase, schools and districts had access to student-level state assessment data, as well as other local data. If additional information or needs became evident following the release of the SRC, diagnostics may be revised as needed after the submission deadline.

Please ensure that the following diagnostics (due Nov. 1) have been submitted in the Continuous Improvement Platform (CIP):

• Needs Assessment for Schools (with associated Key Elements Template)
• Needs Assessment for Districts (with associated Key Elements Template)
• School Assurances
• District Assurances
• District Safety Report

Diagnostics are not intended as stand-alone documents. Their purpose is to encourage thoughtful reflection of current processes, practices and conditions in order to leverage strengths and identify critical needs. 

As a reminder, district diagnostics should be completed at the systems level in the CIP, while schools complete diagnostics at the school level. For additional information regarding creating new diagnostics, please consult the CIP user manual.

Visit the Comprehensive Improvement Planning webpage for additional guidance on improvement plans. Email Ruth Swanson with planning or CIP questions and for assistance. Email Doug Roberts for more information about district safety reports.

Register Now for the HQIR Adoption Support Webinar

Per amendments to KRS 158.305​ as part of Senate Bill 156 (2023), by July 1, 2024, “each superintendent … shall adopt a common comprehensive reading program that is determined by the department to be reliable, valid and aligned to reading and writing standards … for kindergarten through grade three (3) for all schools or a subset of schools, with consultation of all affected elementary school councils.”

To assist districts in effectively selecting an approved Tier 1 comprehensive reading program so that the resource adopted ultimately leads to high-quality instruction and improved student outcomes, the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) is offering a one-hour High-Quality Adoption Support webinar on Monday, Nov. 20, at 10-11 a.m. ET.

The webinar will highlight key tools to support local adoption of a high-quality instruction resource (HQIR) including:

• Developing an instructional vision to help drive the selection process;
• Utilizing a four-step process to support identifying, evaluating and selecting an HQIR;
• Providing an overview of how to navigate EdReports; and 
• Intentionally engaging stakeholders throughout the process.

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 person 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.