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Dear Colleagues:
I’m going to keep today’s message short and sweet, targeted to the one question that is probably weighing most heavily on your mind.
I have heard from many of you that you need additional flexibility to figure out how to keep instruction going while dealing with staff and students who must be quarantined due to being exposed to COVID-19. Right now, the limit of 10 non-traditional instruction days – along with the inability to use those days just for one school – won’t work with the infection rates we are seeing. As of today, 14 districts are shut down due to COVID.
I know you need more options with how you handle this ongoing situation. KDE is working with the Kentucky Board of Education, Gov. Andy Beshear and legislative leaders on potential changes to create additional options and flexibility. Look for more information in the days ahead.
Thank you for everything you are continuing to do for Kentucky’s students.
Kind regards,
Jason E. Glass, Ed.D.
Commissioner & Chief Learner
Mask Donation Distribution Happening this Week
In support of First Lady Britainy Beshear’s Coverings for Kids initiative, the Kentucky Department for Public Health (DPH), in partnership with the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE), Kentucky Emergency Management and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, have announced another distribution of adult- and child-size single-use surgical-style masks, with this round donated by the Ford Motor Co.
In all, 2.4 million masks – 800,000 child-size masks and 1.6 million adult-size masks – will be distributed in this round to Kentucky schools. Delivery to DPH Regional Distribution Site (RDS) is scheduled to take place on Sept. 1-2. The process will be the same as the previous school mask distributions.
Attached is a spreadsheet with a box count breakdown by region and school district, and the RDS point of contact (POC) list. Each district should contact their RDS POC to schedule pickup of their district’s allocation.
The allocation was based on student population and is intended to be used at the district’s discretion. The masks are being provided to help districts meet the needs of students and staff when challenges arise to mask availability.
The distribution is meant to be a supplement and not replace the need for individuals to obtain their own masks.
For more information, email Robbie Hume.
Monthly Transportation Finance Trainings Scheduled
The Kentucky Department of Education’s (KDE’s) Pupil Transportation Branch will be conducting transportation finance trainings for transportation directors and finance officers on the third Wednesday of each month from 10:30 a.m. to noon ET.
Registration requests will be sent for each training. Superintendents and assistant transportation directors are welcome. The format has been updated to allow for more people to interact with the presenter. Attendees will be able to use their microphones and the chat area.
The trainings will provide 1-1.5 hours of Finance Officer Hours and Effective Instructional Leadership Act (EILA) hours, depending on the length of the training. The September training will be an overview of SEEK Transportation, and October will be a deeper dive into the topic. Both presentations will be given by Jody Maggard, finance officer of Perry County schools.
Registration for the September training is available online. After registration, a link to the meeting will be provided. There will be an attachment to the confirmation to add the meeting to your calendar. Email KDE’s Elisa Hanley with any questions.
Submit Proposal Ideas for the 2022 Virtual Kentucky Student Civics Symposium
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) is sponsoring the 2022 virtual Kentucky Student Civics Symposium for students and educators to collaborate on ways to improve their local, regional or global communities.
The conference – which is scheduled for March 23-24, 2022, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET – will focus on providing educators and students in grades K-12 with resources, ideas and experiences that will improve the civic engagement culture of their schools. Students from across the state will share how they are making a positive impact on their communities.
Students and teachers will work together to identify a problem in the community and produce a product that captures the real-life success stories of how students are improving their local, regional or global communities. Products may include, but are not limited to, argumentative writing, explanatory writing, discussions, multimedia presentations and podcasts.
In order to participate in the event, students and teachers must work collaboratively to complete the 2022 Kentucky Student Civic Symposium Proposal Submission Form. Prior to submitting this form, teachers must confirm that students have parent and/or guardian permission to participate in this event by completing the Parent Consent for a Virtual Conference form.
Proposal submissions will be accepted at the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year and must be submitted by Oct. 1. No late submissions will be accepted.
Those with accepted proposals will be notified by Nov. 1. Products for the symposium will need to be submitted by Feb. 24, 2022, and will be evaluated using the Essay/Paper/Report Rubric, Multimedia Rubric, Podcast Rubric or Discussion Rubric. For more information on eligibility guidelines and project requirements, see the Overview Requirements document.
National ESEA Distinguished Schools Program and Application for Category 3
The National Association of ESEA State Program Administrators (NAESPA) – formerly the National Title I Association – selects examples of superior federally funded school programs for national recognition through the National ESEA Distinguished Schools Program.
States can identify up to two Distinguished ESEA Schools every year in three possible categories. The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) reviews student performance data to identify Distinguished ESEA Schools in Category 1 and Category 2. Beginning in the 2021-2022 school year, KDE will begin accepting applications for schools from Category 3, Excellence in serving special populations of students (e.g. homeless, migrant, English learners).
Schools interested in applying for consideration as a Distinguished School in Category 3 must submit a completed application signed by the school principal and district superintendent by the deadline of Sept. 17, 2021. If selected as a finalist, KDE staff will conduct a site visit to interview the principal and selected staff. See the attachment for further information and the application for Category 3.
Two National ESEA Distinguished Schools (one from Category 1, 2 and/or 3) will be notified by email of their selection in November. For more information, email Tara Rodriguez or call her at (502) 564-3791, ext. 4042.
2021-2022 Comprehensive Improvement Planning for Districts and Schools
Improvement planning for the 2021-2022 academic year will be critical for student and staff success. While many things have changed over the past 18 months, proven systems and processes will continue to support quality teaching and learning. A collaborative process involving multiple stakeholders is essential to identifying priority needs and the resources and actions to best address them.
The process and timeline for comprehensive school and district improvement planning outlined in 703 KAR 5:225 remain unchanged, but there have been a few changes to the required diagnostics. This year will include a new English Learner Plan for Districts (Lau Plan) in Phase Four. The Closing the Achievement Gap diagnostic is no longer required as a separate document, but the school’s yearly targets for eliminating any achievement gap are embedded in the Comprehensive School Improvement Plan Template. The 2021-2022 Improvement Planning guidance provides additional information on goal-setting options for schools and districts.
While comprehensive improvement planning is a continuous process and plans may be reviewed and revised at any time, the 2021-2022 timeline identifies the diagnostics included in each phase of the planning process and their statutory due dates.
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) will continue to utilize the Cognia platform for all comprehensive improvement planning diagnostics, but you will begin to see a transition in name from eProve to the Cognia Comprehensive Improvement Platform. For more information, see the Continuous Improvement Platform user manual.
We hope you will join us for the Kentucky Continuous Improvement Summit on Sept. 22-23 to learn more about improvement planning and continuous improvement.
For more information about the Cognia Comprehensive Improvement Platform (formerly eProve) or improvement planning, visit the Comprehensive Improvement Planning website or email Ruth Swanson.
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