 Kentucky Reads to Succeed Summer Conference Date Set for June 20
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) Office of Teaching and Learning (OTL) Division of Early Literacy invites you to the first annual Kentucky Reads to Succeed Summer Conference on June 20 at the Central Bank Center, formerly the Lexington Convention Center.
Keynote speaker and educational journalist Emily Hanford, host of the Sold a Story podcast, the second-most-shared show on Apple Podcasts in 2023 and one of Time magazine’s top three podcasts of the year, has been covering education for American Public Media since 2008. She has won numerous awards for her work, including the EWA Public Service Award in 2019 for Hard Words and the 2017 Excellence in Media Reporting on Education Research Award from the American Educational Research Association.
The conference will require registration, but is free to Kentucky K-12 public educators and will offer focused learning paths to meet the needs of teachers and administrators. Attendees will learn from KDE OTL consultants and partners about:
- Evidence-based instructional shifts for literacy;
- The benefits of structured literacy;
- Why high-quality instructional resources matter; and
- Available resources for implementing the Read to Succeed Act.
Mark your calendar for this June 20 event, and please stay tuned for registration information coming soon.
 ICYMI: HQIR Adoption Support Webinar Recording and PowerPoint Available
Per amendments to KRS 158.305 as part of Senate Bill 156 (2023), by July 1, 2024, “each superintendent … shall adopt a common comprehensive reading program that is determined by the department to be reliable, valid and aligned to reading and writing standards … for kindergarten through grade three (3) for all schools or a subset of schools, with consultation of all affected elementary school councils.”
To assist districts in effectively selecting an approved Tier 1 comprehensive reading program so that the resource adopted ultimately leads to high-quality instruction and improved student outcomes, the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) offered a one-hour High-Quality Adoption Support webinar on Nov. 20, 2023, a recording of which is available along with the accompanying PowerPoint.
The webinar highlighted key tools to support local adoption of a high-quality instructional resource (HQIR), including:
- Developing an instructional vision to help drive the selection process;
- Utilizing a four-step process to support identifying, evaluating and selecting an HQIR;
- Providing an overview of how to navigate EdReports; and
- Intentionally engaging stakeholders throughout the process.
 HQIR Pilot Story: Barbourville Independent School District Shares Experience Adopting High-Quality Instructional Resources
Josh DeBorde, chief academic officer at Barbourville Independent School District, recently shared the district’s work as part of the Kentucky Department of Education-sponsored Reading and Writing High-Quality Instructional Resources (HQIR) Pilot during a Rivet Education webinar focused on implementing HQIRs.
After experiencing a turnover in leadership, the district took the opportunity to focus on improving English language arts instruction. The first step was selecting a new HQIR.
“We needed something that would allow every single student in our district, especially coming off the COVID years, to succeed at a high level,” DeBorde said.
Once the district had chosen which HQIR to purchase, their attention turned to how to successfully implement it. Check out the webinar to learn more about how Barbourville Independent leveraged existing structures, like professional learning communities, and new practices, like vertical alignment, to help their teachers feel like they could help every student succeed at a high level using their new HQIR.
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