Create a Brag Board for Kentucky School Counselors Using Flipgrid
Create a quick video highlighting some of your successes this year through Flipgrid!
If for some reason the link provided does not work for you, join by using the following join code: 7ac3c169. I'd love to share your stories and celebrate your awesomeness!
KDE Provides Funds to Double Size of the Kentucky Governor's School for the Arts
Kentucky Performing Arts has announced that the statewide arts education program for high school students, the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts (GSA), recently received supplemental funding from the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) that will allow the program to double in size.
Read more about the expansion on the Kentucky Governor's School for the Arts webpage.
School Counselor Advisory Council Meets
Check out a recording from the first School Counselor Advisory Council meeting of the year to learn about items relevant to your role in Kentucky!
Get Ready for College initiative
Submitted by DeDe Conner, Kentucky Department of Education
Please help to promote college going through Infinite Campus messaging. The initiative is to promote college-going by reaching out to students and families directly through Infinite Campus messaging. This is being promoted as a partnership between the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE), Kentucky public universities, the Department of Education and local high schools/districts.
Districts and schools are a trusted source of information. Messages can be sent through the Campus Portal and email with standard messaging; texting is available if the district has purchased Campus Messenger. A scripted message is included in the messaging instructions.
The message promotes a Get Ready for College webpage with links to all Kentucky public universities’ application sites. The new CPE webpage should make it easier for students to get started with applications for the schools of their choice.
The purpose of using the easy and convenient messaging in Infinite Campus is to encourage students to take the next step on their educational journey by applying early to one or more schools, and to complete the FAFSA to fully explore financial aid options and maximize awards available.
Messaging will specifically target seniors and juniors designated as early graduates based on cumulative GPA at the end of the last school year. Messages can be sent to two groups:
- Students with a GPA of 2.5 or higher, which meets minimum requirements for all Kentucky universities; and
- Students with a GPA below 2.5, which qualities for Kentucky Community and Technical College System enrollment and may qualify for other public universities.
It is easy to get started using detailed instructions that are available. The KDE Data Services team is available to help if there are questions.
Student Advisory Council recaps education summit and mental health roundtables
Members of the Kentucky Department of Education’s (KDE's) Commissioner’s Student Advisory Council (SAC) praised the student voice included in the 2021 Kentucky Education Summit during their meeting on Nov. 17.
Solyana Mesfin, a senior at Eastern High School (Jefferson County), said she enjoyed seeing an increase in student participation at the summit.
“It’s an example for all adult-driven spaces to have students feel more comfortable,” she said.
During the Nov. 1-2 summit, Education Commissioner Jason E. Glass unveiled KDE’s new initiative, United We Learn: Investing in Kentucky’s Future, One Student at a Time.
SAC member Logan Justice, a senior at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School (Fayette County), created a video at the conference that highlights students who attended the summit.
Spandana Pavuluri, a junior at duPont Manual High School (Jefferson County), praised Justice for his work to give a clear voice to students.
“Paraphrasing can only capture so much of what people say, but giving their authentic words in interviews is wonderful,” said Pavuluri.
Bentley White, a junior at the Kentucky School for the Deaf, appreciated the video’s emphasis on student voice in conversations surrounding changes to the education system.
“It highlights that it’s a system for the students, by the students,” said White.
On the first day of the summit, SAC members also presented what they learned from working on mental health roundtables hosted across Kentucky with Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman.
Soleila Elliot González, a junior at Ballard High School (Jefferson County), said recommendations gathered from students during the roundtables included giving students and staff mental health days, training for students and staff, and a workshop for students to discuss their mental health needs as a group.
The student team working on these roundtables is now focusing on gathering recommendations from the roundtables to take to policymakers ahead of the next legislative session in January 2022.
School Funding Task Force update
Robin Kinney, associate commissioner in KDE’s Office of Finance and Operations, provided an update to the council on the School Funding Task Force, which was created by House Bill 405 to look at how the education funding system works now and how it could be changed in the future.
'Kentucky Framework for Best Practices' is topic of Counselor Cadre Video Series
Our first ever statewide school counselor cadre meeting happened on Nov. 12!
You can watch the first meeting on the KDE Media Portal.
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