(FRANKFORT, KY) – Kentucky superintendents heard more information about Agriculture Education Week during the Superintendents Webcast on Feb. 11.
Agriculture Education Week will be held March 17-21. Commissioner of Education Robbie Fletcher joined Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman and Commissioner of Agriculture Jonathan Shell during the official announcement at the Kentucky State Capitol on Feb. 5.
Gov. Andy Beshear will also sign a proclamation during Ag Education Week to officially mark the event.
Agriculture Education Week delivers an all-encompassing learning experience for students, equips educators with ready-to-use lessons and fosters community involvement to create vibrant learning opportunities on the diverse world of agriculture for students.
Fletcher said the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) was thrilled to collaborate with Coleman and Shell’s offices.
“They wanted to do an ag initiative to bring awareness, especially in the elementary schools, but they wanted to do it in a way that we could provide resources to teachers,” Fletcher said. “They didn't want this to be an add-on for teachers.”
KDE helped develop several resources for the initiative, including science lesson plans aligned with the Kentucky Academic Standards. Kentucky’s K-2 students will be learning about pollination through an agricultural lens, and students in grades 3-5 will be learning about erosion.
Bethany Mattingly, education and outreach director with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, spoke about the different activities school districts are encouraged to participate in, including literacy lessons, hands-on experiences and interactions with real farmers in the community.
“It’s highly engaging. It uses inquiry-based education. There are project-based learning opportunities and opportunities for the community to be involved,” Mattingly said. “That’s a lot to put into one week, and we’re trying to make that as easy as possible on educators, whether you’re a teacher, a principal or anywhere in between.”
For more information on Agriculture Education Week, lesson plans and resources, visit the All in for Ag Education Week website.
Applications for 2025-2026 KBE Non-voting Student and Teacher Members
Applications are now being accepted for the non-voting teacher and student members of the Kentucky Board of Education (KBE).
Each member would serve a one-year term from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026.
To be considered for the teacher position, the applicant must be employed on a full-time basis by a Kentucky public school district in a position for which Education Professional Standards Board certification is required, not employed in an administrative role and must reside in Kentucky's 3rd Congressional District.
For the student position, the applicant must be enrolled in a Kentucky public high school, be a junior at the time of appointment to the KBE and must reside in Kentucky's 1st Congressional District.
The KBE has 15 members. The governor appoints 11 voting members: seven representing the Supreme Court districts and four representing the state at large. The additional members – the president of the Council on Postsecondary Education, the secretary of the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet, a high school student and an active elementary or secondary school teacher – serve as non-voting members.
Additional information can be found on the KBE non-voting student application or the KBE non-voting teacher application. Applications must be submitted by March 11 at 5 p.m. ET.
Any questions about the application process can be sent to KDE Director of Education Policy GlyptusAnn Grider Jones.
Purple Star Award Program
Representatives with the Kentucky Purple Star Award Program encouraged superintendents to apply for the recognition.
The Purple Star Program helps children with a military connection overcome academic and social-emotional challenges of military life, like frequent moves and parent deployments. The program also provides military-connected youth with a point of contact who has been trained to deal with the unique challenges they face and builds communitywide support for military-connected families.
To qualify as a Kentucky Purple Star School, schools must do three things: designate a trained point of contact to provide support for military students and families, implement one annual military recognition event at the school and post resources for military families on the school website.
Applications are due by Feb. 15 and can be accessed on the Kentucky Purple Star Award website.
Non-Traditional Instruction Days
Fletcher spoke to superintendents about talks with legislators on the potential for providing school districts with relief on non-traditional instruction (NTI) days given how many districts have needed NTI to keep students safe during severe weather and community illnesses this school year.
Fletcher said lawmakers are considering legislation to allow districts to change their daily hours of instruction requirement and provide some flexibility for the commissioner to help districts meet attendance requirements if they aren’t finished with classes by June 4. Fletcher said he personally has asked lawmakers to approve five additional NTI days for districts. He also recommended school leaders approach using NTI days as “continued learning.”
“As a former superintendent, … we would try our best if we knew we were going to be out for five days to maybe have an NTI day on Tuesday and then maybe on Thursday, and that was really to make sure we stayed in contact with our kids,” he said. “But also, we led off with whatever we finished on Friday, we would try to pick up on Tuesday and Thursday for NTI.”
Fletcher said talks with lawmakers are also ongoing to address the shortfall in the Support Education Excellence in Kentucky (SEEK) funding program this year.
State Advisory Panel for Exceptional Children Vacancies
Representatives with KDE’s Office of Special Education and Early Learning informed superintendents about vacancies on the State Advisory Panel for Exception Children.
Associate Commissioner Gretta Hylton said there are vacancies with multiple role groups:
- Individuals with disabilities;
- Parents of individuals with disabilities; and
- Teachers, representatives of institutions of higher education and administrators of programs for children with disabilities.
The application can be found on the Governor’s Boards and Commissions website and clicking the “Children, Kentucky State Advisory Panel for Exceptional” tab.
Superintendents also heard about:
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