Dear Colleagues:
I feel I must start of this message to you all with a big “Thank You!” for you and your staff.
Many of your schools already have administered the K-PREP test, while more are doing their testing this week. In any given year, this is a tense and stressful time. This year is even more stressful, as you are working on how to test in-person and virtual students who have had their usual education radically altered for half of two school years due to COVID-19.
You and many others in your district – principals, teachers, district assessment coordinators, building assessment coordinators and test proctors – have had to work on how to safely administer a test required by the federal government. It’s tough and I want you to know I recognize that.
The K-PREP operational test (reading, mathematics, science and writing) and social studies field test were administered online very successfully at all grade levels. Last year in February, before the COVID shutdowns, Kentucky successfully completed an online field test for elementary and middle schools. To date, 1,017,707 successfully completed online tests are in the digital system, with more to be added in the next weeks. Thank you and your staff for their assistance in achieving this milestone and for a smooth transition to online test administration.
We at the department, and I personally, am grateful for the hard work you have put into serving your students during these most unusual times. All of you have led with a servant’s heart, putting your students’ needs first. You have done our state and your profession proud. Please pass along my profound thanks to your staff for their hard work and dedication.
As we are nearing the end of the 2020-2021 school year, this is a time for celebrations. Many of this year’s seniors will soon be graduating. The seniors from this year and last year have met their graduation requirements during the most extraordinary circumstances and I am so proud of the grit and determination they have shown. These characteristics, while forged or honed in the past 12 months, will serve them well as they embark on their future careers or continue their education.
I want to say congratulations to the Class of 2021, and I want to remind them to stay safe while they are celebrating this major milestone in their lives. I also want to remind you that KDE has begun its Class of 2021 social media shout outs.
Please ask your yearbook sponsor/teacher to look through pictures and select up to 10 photos of your seniors/Class of 2021 that feature a great representation of your high school(s). We ask that any photos submitted display the health and safety guidelines outlined in the flagship Healthy at School document, including social distancing and mask-wearing. KDE will not use any photos submitted that are not following the guidelines.
Please use the Class of 2021 Group Photo Submission Google Form to submit photos as soon as possible. If you run into any issues submitting via the form, you may email the photos to Jacob Perkins from KDE’s Division of Communications.
Let’s finish the year strong!
Kind regards,
Jason E. Glass, Ed.D.
Commissioner & Chief Learner
ESSA Schoolwide Flexibility and Flexibility for Within District Allocations Due to COVID-19
Section 1114(a)(1)(B) of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) offers flexibility for the operation of schoolwide programs in schools that don’t meet the poverty threshold required in Section 1114(a)(1)(A). This threshold is typically set at 40%. However, flexibility is offered as follows:
“(B) EXCEPTION. – A school that serves an eligible school attendance area in which less than 40 percent of the children are from low-income families, or a school for which less than 40 percent of the children enrolled in the school are from such families, may operate a schoolwide program under this section if the school receives a waiver from the State educational agency to do so, after taking into account how a schoolwide program will best serve the needs of the students in the school served under this part in improving academic achievement and other factors.”
With approval, the school would have to meet all requirements under ESSA Section 1114.
To request this flexibility, a district must apply on behalf of a school. The request must:
- Describe that the district requests the flexibility;
- Address how the schoolwide program will best serve the needs of students in the school in improving academic achievement and other factors;
- Be written on the district’s letterhead; and
- Include the signature of the superintendent or his or her designee.
Please note, districts that have been approved for this flexibility in the past do not need to request it again and may continue to operate schoolwide programs in those approved schools as long as they remain eligible for services as outlined in ESSA Section 1113. Those districts must maintain documentation of the original approval.
Flexibility requests and questions may be emailed to David Millanti or mailed to David Millanti, Assistant Director; Division of Consolidated Plans and Audits; 300 Sower Blvd., 5th Floor; Frankfort, KY 40601.
Additionally, districts may benefit from flexibility offered for using data to determine within district allocations. This U.S. Department of Education fact sheet explains the flexibility for using data from the 2019-2020 school year for the purposes of ranking and serving schools and discusses how to use data for determining equitable services. Please contact David Millanti with further questions.
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