High School Social Studies: ‘Disciplinary Clarifications and Instructional Support’ 

Based on feedback during the standards implementation process, a new document called “High School Disciplinary Clarifications and Instructional Support” for the Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS) for Social Studies is now available. 

The disciplinary clarifications include sample ideas of content and concepts to help teachers better understand the expectations of the standards. The identified disciplinary clarifications are possible suggestions; however, they are not the only pathways and are not comprehensive to obtain mastery of the standards. The “High School: Disciplinary Clarifications and Instructional Support” document is a supplemental resource and should not be used in place of the Kentucky Academic Standards for Social Studies.

To access the entire KAS for Social Studies, including additional information regarding the KAS for Social Studies for high school, visit the KY Standards website.

2020-2021 Course Codes Available in Searchable Database

The Searchable State Course Codes Database (SSCCD) has been updated for the 2020-2021 school year.

Five new high school course codes have been added for the 2020-2021 school year – 332001 Introduction to 3D Printing Technology, 459805 Social Studies 1, 459806 Social Studies 2, 459807 Social Studies 3 and 500613 IB Film. The 960001 Credit Recovery Placeholder has been renamed “Digital Learning Placeholder” and the description has been updated. There are no course codes being discontinued (deprecated) for the 2020-2021 school year.

The new social studies courses are intended to offer schools an additional way to meet minimum high school graduation requirements for social studies. The description for each course can be found on the 2020-2021 Course Code Changes spreadsheet and in the SSCCD. The standards that have been aligned to each course can be found in the course standards documents: “459805 Social Studies 1,” “459806 Social Studies 2” and “459807 Social Studies 3.”

For a detailed list of course code changes, see the 2020-2021 Course Code Changes spreadsheet. An updated course codes frequently asked questions document for 2020-2021 also is available.

For more information, email coursecodes@education.ky.gov.

Revised Final Allocations in GMAP

Revised final allocations for fiscal year (FY) 2020 (school year 2019-2020) for Title I, Part A; Title I, Part D; Title II, Part A; Title III/EL; and Title V (RLIS) grants to local education agencies (LEAs) have been uploaded into GMAP. These allocations replace previously released allocations.

Districts with initial approval (KDE Consolidated Consultant-Approved) of the FY20 application must update their applications in GMAP to reflect the new allocations. For more information, email or call the following program contacts:

• Title I, Part A: KDE Title I, Part A Consultants, (502) 564-3791
• Title I, Part D: Monica Shack, (502) 564-3791, ext. 4052
• Title II, Part A: Kris Jarboe, (502) 892-6545
• Title III (EL): Jessica Sanderson, (502) 564-3791, ext. 4004; or Erin Sudduth, (502) 564-3791, ext. 4021
• Title V/RLIS: Jennifer Akin, (502) 564-3791, ext. 4014

Following is some program-specific information from the U.S. Department of Education (USED).

Title I, Part A and Title II, Part A

• USED awarded states the portion of their FY 2019 Title I, Part A and Title II, Part A funds that the FY 2019 appropriation act made available Oct. 1.
• The October 2019 Title I, Part A awards were based on the revised final FY 2019 Title I, Part A allocations that USED provided states in September 2019. The October 2019 Title II, Part A awards were based on the final FY 2019 Title II, Part A allocations that USED provided states in June 2019.
• USED does not expect any changes to the revised final FY 2019 Title I, Part A allocations or the final FY 2019 Title II, Part A allocations. 

USED awarded all FY 2019 homeless education funds in July 2019. For Title III, Part A and Title IV, Part B, USED does not expect any changes to the FY 2019 allocations for these programs.

Title I, Part A allocations

USED allocates funding to districts through four funding sources, each with its own qualification requirement. To be eligible to receive funding through each pot, individual districts must meet the minimum poverty criteria, as follows:

• Basic Grants: The number of formula children must be at least 10 and more than 2% of the total school-aged population.
• Concentration Grants: The number of formula children within the district must exceed either 6,500 or 15% of the total number of children ages 5-17. To qualify for this funding source, an LEA must meet the eligibility criteria in the current year or have met the criteria at least once in the four years prior to the current year. Because falling out of eligibility for this funding source can greatly affect your total allocation, KDE will contact you if this applies.
• Targeted Grants: The number of formula children must be at least 10 and at least 5% of the total number of children ages 5-17.
• Education Finance Incentive Grants: The number of formula children must be at least 10 and at least 5% of the total number of children ages 5-17.

For more information about Title I, Part A allocations and eligibility, see the Notification of Tentative Census Poverty and Hold Harmless Percentages document on the Title I Documents and Resources page.

Working conditions survey to launch Jan. 14

The 2020 Impact Kentucky working conditions survey, formerly the TELL Kentucky working conditions survey, will take place between Jan. 14 - Feb. 21, 2020. A steering committee of Kentucky superintendents, teachers, principals and education groups from across the state oversaw the survey planning and developed guidelines for administration. Panorama Education, the leading provider of surveys in the K-12 space, will collect and analyze the survey results.

This year’s survey will feature key differences from the previous working conditions survey. Electronic access codes will be sent to the school’s identified school survey coordinator to distribute to all certified educators in the building. The coordinators will receive an invitation to participate in a webinar to gain further direction on distributing access codes.

Additional differences are related to the content and length of the survey. The 2020 Impact Kentucky survey will be less than 80 questions and should take educators approximately 15-20 minutes to complete.

We are confident that despite changes, the survey will still provide the same critical data that school leaders are accustomed to. If you have any questions, please email ImpactKentucky@education.ky.gov. 

Kentucky Academic Standards Family Guides Available in Spanish

The Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS) family guides were developed to help families familiarize themselves with the content of each grade level’s standards. Each guide contains a standards overview for reading and writing, mathematics, science and social studies.

The guides are now available in Spanish and can be accessed on the Standards Family Guides & Resources webpage on the KY Standards website.

Comprehensive District & School Improvement Plans:

Phase Three (Plotting the Course) – Deadline Jan. 1

During phase three of the comprehensive improvement planning process, schools and districts are required to complete and submit the following diagnostics in eProve:

• Comprehensive Improvement Plan for Schools
• Comprehensive Improvement Plan for Districts
• Executive Summary for Schools
• Executive Summary for Districts
• Closing the Achievement Gap Diagnostic
• The Superintendent Gap Assurance
• Title I Annual Review Diagnostic (if applicable)

The purpose of the diagnostics is to encourage thoughtful reflection of a school and district's current state to move to the desired state. Also, schools and districts must address critical needs specified in the Needs Assessment and align strategies and activities to those needs. The deadline for submitting the diagnostics is Jan. 1.

The required comprehensive school improvement plan (CSIP) and the comprehensive district improvement plan (CDIP) goals for 2019-2020 include:

• proficiency
• separate academic indicator
• achievement gap
• growth (elementary and middle school only)
• transition readiness (high school only)
• graduation rate (high school only)

The offline goal building template – which has been updated and will assist in the development of goals, objectives, strategies and activities – can be found on the Kentucky Department of Education website. Once completed to satisfaction, the document should be uploaded into the eProve platform with the Comprehensive Improvement Plan for Schools/Districts Diagnostic.

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

Each district’s superintendent and each school’s principal is strongly encouraged to view the 2019-2020 Comprehensive Improvement Planning for Districts and Schools and eProve webinar. A transcript of the webinar also is available. The webinar includes the planning timeline, compliance monitoring, 2019-2020 updated goal building templates, and navigating eProve.

Visit KDE’s Comprehensive Improvement Planning website for additional guidance on improvement plans. Email Natasha Napier with eProve questions and assistance.

National ESEA Conference Set for Feb. 4-7

The National ESEA Conference will be Feb. 4-7 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. This conference is four days of learning and skill building focused on supporting students served by Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) programs.

This year’s theme, “Together for Equity,” focuses on the unique needs of historically underserved children and how to centralize service across all ESEA programs.

Participants include state agency officials, school district administrators, school building leaders and teachers. There will be updates from the U.S. Department of Education about federal education program and funding issues. Conference participants will have opportunities to meet and learn from professionals who have taken significant steps to help students succeed.

Conference details, including registration materials, are available on the ESEA website. For more information, email Bob Harmon, CEO of the National Association of ESEA State Program Administrators or call him at (800) 256-6452.

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 Monday Message to Jennifer Ginn by 10 a.m. Friday to be published in the upcoming week.