April 10, 2024

Recording of March 2024 Leadership Meeting Now Available

In order to provide equitable learning environments for all students, it is important for schools and districts to translate the Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS) into a guaranteed and viable curriculum. Additionally, it is critical that students receive strong, standards-aligned instruction supported by evidenced-based instructional practices.

The regional educational cooperatives, in partnership with the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE), hosted meetings in March for district and school leaders to examine tools and resources available to create equitable learning environments at the local level. The session focused on effective implementation of a local curriculum supported by a High-Quality Instructional Resource (HQIR) to improve the student experience and outcomes.

Key topics included:

• A Framework for Effective Curriculum Implementation;
• Curriculum-Based Professional Learning (CBPL); and
• Standards Updates (including a new resource to support the KAS for Science)

Several new resources were shared to support districts in effective implementation of a local curriculum supported by a primary HQIR and the high-quality professional learning it requires.

• Curriculum Implementation Framework
• Curriculum-Based Professional Learning Guidance Document
• Structuring Professional Learning Cycles
• Driving Questions Board Module (for Science)

A recording of the March 2024 Leadership Meeting is now available, including access to the accompanying materials in the March 2024 Participant Folder. Effective Instructional Leadership Act (EILA) credit is available for this session.

Math Resources for the Primary Grades

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) offers many resources for each of the different content areas. Two key mathematics resources are highlighted below that support vibrant student learning in the primary grades.   

• Formative Assessment Lessons: These lessons are instructional tools that utilize effective instructional practices and utilize strategies based on the work of Dylan Wiliam’s 5 Key Strategies for Formative Assessment. These elementary lessons were designed by the Kentucky Department of Education and field-tested by Kentucky teachers. Each formative assessment lesson or classroom challenge is designed to be part of an instructional unit and should be implemented about two-thirds of the way through. The results should then be used to inform the instruction for the rest of the unit. Instructional practices embedded in the lessons should be utilized throughout instruction.

• The Kentucky Family Math Games webpage: This webpage is a collection of simple, yet engaging games families can play repeatedly at home to build mathematical thinking. To help families know which games may be more appropriate for their aged child, they are organized by grade level bands.

Registration Now Open for Kentucky Reads to Succeed Summer Conference!

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) Office of Teaching and Learning (OTL) Division of Early Literacy invites you to register for the first annual Kentucky Reads to Succeed Summer Conference. The conference will take place June 20, 2024, 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 is FREE to Kentucky K-12 public educators and offers focused learning pathways 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.

Please share this message and/or the Kentucky Reads to Succeed Summer Conference flyer with your colleagues.

Standards Newsletter Archive

Did you miss last week's Standards Newsletter? You can access all previous editions of the newsletter on the Standards Newsletter Archive webpage.

Standards Quick Links

KYstandards.org

Model Curriculum Framework webpage

Standards Resources webpage

KY Academic Standards webpage

Elementary Webinar Series: What do the Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS) for Social Studies look like in practice?

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) has partnered with organizations across Kentucky to showcase what a social studies learning experience aligned to the KAS for Social Studies looks like in practice. This webinar series is designed to deepen participants’ social studies content knowledge and pedagogy. Four webinars with an elementary focus will be featured this spring.

In these presentations, representatives from the KDE will support teachers in breaking down a disciplinary strand standard. Then, a partner educational organization will engage participants in a sample learning experience using resources from their organization. These learning experiences are designed for participants’ use in their own classrooms with their students. Following each webinar, a recording of the presentation, along with the PowerPoint slides and any related instructional resources, will be published on our Social Studies Elementary Webinar Series webpage on KYstandards.org.

Interested in a preview of what these webinars will be like? Access this pre-recorded Grade 1 example. In this example, representatives from the KDE and the Kentucky Historical Society guide viewers through a learning experience where students see how a home in Kentucky has changed over time.

The webinars are scheduled for:

• April 17 at 5:00 p.m. ET: Grade 1 Kentucky History Focus with the Kentucky Historical Society (example two)
• April 24 at 5:00 p.m. ET: Grade 3 Kentucky Economics Focus with the Belle of Louisville
• May 1 at 5:00 p.m. ET: Kindergarten Economics Focus with the St. Louis Federal Reserve

Complete this Google Form to register to attend, and you will receive a Teams meeting invitation and link.

CONTACT INFORMATION

standards@education.ky.gov