Who:
- Sen. Stephen West, Chair of the Senate Education Committee
- Rep. James Tipton, Chair of the House Education Committee
- Robin Fields Kinney, Interim Commissioner of Education
- Robbie Fletcher, Incoming Commissioner of Education
- Larry Begley, Bourbon County Superintendent
- Amy Lingo, Statewide Reading Research Center Director, University of Louisville
What:
Senate Bill 9 (2022), also known as the Read to Succeed Act, specified the Kentucky Department of Education's (KDE's) role in assisting local school districts with regard to reading instruction, supports and interventions; as well as requiring KDE to collaborate with designated agencies on reading programming, materials and activities. State education leaders will provide an update on literacy instruction across the Commonwealth, as well as unveil a new statewide reading research center being established at the University of Louisville.
Senate Bill 156 (2023), sponsored by Sen. West, called on KDE to use a competitive bid process to find the next statewide reading research center. A new center operator was to be named by July 1, 2024. KDE looks forward to partnering with the center to determine annual goals and a comprehensive research agenda, evaluating early reading models, instructional resources and evidence-based practices needed to accelerate student performance toward proficiency in reading.
Rep. Tipton and Incoming Commissioner of Education Fletcher will be reading to students after the press conference as part of Bourbon County's Summer Boost: Reading and Mathematics Program. Twenty-nine districts across Kentucky are part of the Summer Boost program, a partnership between KDE, the Summer Food Service Program and the Children’s Reading Foundation. The program promotes family engagement in reading and math by giving away free books and fun items – such as wristbands, bookmarks and magnets – to motivate and remind families to read 20 minutes every day. Each participating district will receive about 1,000 books to distribute at their meal sites.
KDE staff will be on hand to discuss the Summer Boost program with members of the media after the press conference.
When and Where:
-
Monday, June 3, noon ET – Bourbon Central Elementary School, 367 Bethlehem Road, Paris
Members of the press planning to attend the event are requested to register in advance and should be in position by 11:45 a.m. ET so the event can begin on time.
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