Commissioner's Comments
Dear Colleagues:
Our Superintendents Advisory Committee met today and Department for Public Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack gave an interesting new perspective on where we are regarding the COVID-19 9 infection and why he has made the public health recommendations he has recently.
I know it has been a challenging time for many of you since Gov. Andy Beshear asked you on Aug. 10 to delay in-person instruction until Sept. 28. The mood of Kentucky and the nation has shifted since schools and most of the economy shut down five months ago. When it became clear that what we had hoped would be a temporary inconvenience actually was a long-term disruption of our normal way of life, the ability to get people to support closing school buildings has been much harder. I know this is something many of you are struggling with right now.
I also recognize that many of our students are struggling during this time. Attending in-person classes not only enriches their minds in a way that non-traditional instruction struggles to do, but it also provides vital nourishment in the form of breakfast and lunch for many students when so many families have been struggling financially. We’ve also heard from our Commissioner’s Student Advisory Council and many other students that one of the biggest issues they face is the social and emotional isolation of being separated from friends, teachers and counselors while being quarantined at home.
The decision on whether to resume in-person classes is not an us-vs-them type of decision. Schools that are choosing to reopen are trying to serve their students in a way they believe is best for them and their communities. The governor, DPH and KDE have asked schools to delay reopening schools to in-person classes for the same reason, including creating the best environment possible to drive down case numbers so all districts can resume in-person learning on September 28.
Dr. Stack said when the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) published the flagship Healthy at School guidance document along with DPH on June 24, the number of people being diagnosed with COVID-19 was relatively low and stable. Since then, he said, we have tripled our daily infection rate. We also have been testing 7,000 to 9,000 people each day and of those tested, we have had a 5.45% positivity rate for the past seven days.
These numbers point to one thing, COVID-19 is spreading widely in our communities and a return to in-person instruction carries a risk of spreading the disease further and faster, thus risking the delay that all districts can return to and stay with in-person learning.
Stack also pointed out that trying to manage the state’s COVID-19 infection rate on a district-by-district or county-by-county basis isn’t practical because our students, our residents – and certainly the virus – don’t stop at the county line. Many of the people who work at KDE in Frankfort live in other counties and could potentially spread a disease acquired at work to their home counties or vice versa.
I understand you all are facing many kinds of pressure to reopen your buildings to in-person instruction. I know continuing non-traditional instruction is not perfect and it has real consequences for our students, teachers, staff and public school families.
But I also would like to remind all of us that public health means doing things individually for the greater good. Getting our children vaccinated against measles not only helps them, it also helps protect those who cannot get immunized themselves. Keeping a student who has strep throat out of the classroom helps prevent its spread across an entire school. Public health is just that, for the health of the public at large.
Yes, closing our schools to in-person classes has impacted all of us, but it’s also the best chance we have of being able to reopen schools later this fall and it’s the best way to preserve the health and safety of our students, our teachers and our staff. Reopening our schools is the goal all of us want to reach. You can help us get there by following the governor’s request to keep school buildings closed for now.
Also, please join us for the weekly Special Superintendents' Webcast 2-4 p.m. ET Tuesday. The topics will include an update from the Kentucky Department of Education's (KDE) Division of Communications; new KDE guidance on orientation and targeted services and participation tracking in Infinite Campus; a presentation from Kentucky Department for Public Health Commissioner (DPH) Dr. Steven Stack; and another Q & A with KDE and DPH.
Thank you for all you do for Kentucky’s children. I am proud to be part of #TeamKDE and #TeamKentucky.
Kevin
Here are some helpful links to resources you might find useful:
New Dates for Trauma-Informed Practices Training Available
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) has continued its partnership with University of Kentucky’s Center on Trauma and Children (CTAC) to provide training on Trauma Informed Practices for Educators and School Personnel as well as a train-the-trainer opportunity. The training is available starting in September and will be offered virtually.
The learning collaborative approach can help schools meet the requirements of KRS 158.4416 in the School Safety and Resiliency Act, which requires the development of a trauma-informed team in each school and a plan for implementing a trauma-informed approach. Schools and districts can consult the Trauma-Informed Teams resource guide, which KDE released as part of the Trauma-Informed Toolkit required by KRS 158.4416. The guide helps determine which staff members schools and districts may want to include in the training.
See the attached flier for dates and registration details. Email Josh Fisherkeller at CTAC for questions or more information.
Summary of Suicide Prevention Updates Available
On Aug. 11, Patti Clark and Beck Whipple from the Kentucky Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities (BHDID) presented important updates on the recommended approach for addressing the requirements to provide suicide prevention training to students and staff by Sept. 15 in accordance with KRS 156.095. A summary of those key points is attached.
More detailed information, including recommended resources for meeting statutory requirements, is available on the Kentucky Department of Education’s Suicide Prevention and Awareness webpage. For more information, email Patti Clark or Beck Whipple at BHDID.
2020-2021 Comprehensive Improvement Planning Timeline for Districts and Schools
eProve will continue to serve as the platform for all comprehensive improvement planning work for the 2020-2021 academic year. When logging into eProve, administrators and users will notice that previous years’ diagnostics are still visible. To clarify those next steps for schools and districts and to ensure accurate reporting and compliance, KDE recommends taking the following steps:
- Prior to opening the new diagnostics for 2020-2021, please rename previous years’ diagnostics to include the year (i.e. 2019-2020 Title I Annual Review, 2019-2020 Closing the Achievement Gap, 2018-2019 Title I Annual Review, 2018-2019 Closing the Achievement Gap, etc.). In addition to renaming any documents to include the corresponding year, please lock the diagnostics to prevent additional changes. Modifying the name to include the year and locking the diagnostic will help to alleviate any confusion when attempting to distinguish this year’s diagnostics from any previous years. For additional tips on renaming and locking diagnostics, consult the eProve User Manual.
- After renaming and locking any previous year’s diagnostics, begin new diagnostics by following the steps outlined on pages 8 through 10 of the eProve User Manual. After beginning the new diagnostics, rename them to include the current school year to help distinguish these from the archived diagnostics (i.e. 2020-2021 Title I Annual Review, 2020-2021 Closing the Achievement Gap, etc.). Schools and districts must annually develop an improvement plan and therefore must begin new diagnostics.
The process and timeline for comprehensive school and district improvement planning outlined in 703 KAR 5:225 remain unchanged. Following the 2020 legislative session, a few new diagnostics have been added to the process. Additional information regarding each will be forthcoming from the KDE. Diagnostics in the eProve system have been identified by phases and include the following:
Comprehensive District Improvement Plan (CDIP)
Phase One (Aug. 1 – Oct. 1)
- Continuous Improvement Diagnostic for Districts
Phase Two (Oct. 1 – Nov. 1)
- Needs Assessment for Districts
- District Assurances
- District Safety Report
Phase Three (Nov. 1 – Jan. 1)
- Professional Development Plan for Districts — New
- Comprehensive District Improvement Plan
- Executive Summary for Districts
- The Superintendent Gap Assurance
Phase Four (Jan. 1 – Dec. 31)
- Continuation of Learning Plan for Districts (Due May 1) — New
- Progress Monitoring
Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (CSIP)
Phase One (Aug. 1 – Oct. 1)
- Continuous Improvement Diagnostic for Schools
Phase Two (Oct. 1 – Nov. 1)
- Needs Assessment for Schools
- School Assurances
- School Safety Report
Phase Three (Nov. 1 – Jan. 1)
- Professional Development Plan for Schools — New
- Comprehensive School Improvement Plan
- Executive Summary for Schools
- Closing the Achievement Gap Diagnostic
Phase Four (Jan. 1 – Dec. 31)
Due to current restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic and out of an abundance of caution, the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE), in partnership with Cognia, has canceled its 2020-2021 Continuous Improvement Summit previously scheduled for Sept. 28-29 at the Marriott Griffin Gate in Lexington. Planning already is underway for the 2021-2022 Continuous Improvement Summit to be held at the Lexington Convention Center on Sept. 22-23, 2021. Please mark your calendar and save the dates. We look forward to seeing and learning with you in person.
Prior to beginning planning work in eProve, please consult the “COVID-19 2020-21 Improvement Planning: Living Continuous Improvement” guidance document.
If you have questions related to eProve and improvement planning, please visit the Comprehensive Improvement Planning website or email Natasha Stein or Ruth Swanson.
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