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Dear Colleagues,
Last week, the Kentucky United We Learn Council met for its fall convening to continue the discussion on narrowing down what new assessment and accountability systems might look like.
I have mentioned numerous times that assessment and accountability, along with the work of the Kentucky United We Learn Council, is something that I am very passionate about and I look forward to the work that will come out of this group. With that being said, I would like to share with you a few updates on where we are with this framework.
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) and the council began a study phase of the most recent assessment and accountability prototype in August. So far, the study phase has sought input from all districts through Kentucky’s education cooperatives, conducting focus groups with 36 school districts and distributing a survey to the public. A total of 647 people from across Kentucky responded to the survey, including educators and paraprofessionals, school administrators, business and industry representatives, community members and superintendents.
About 75% of respondents favor adopting a local accountability system for Kentucky schools that considers multiple factors, including broader school improvement efforts such as opportunities for vibrant learning experiences, parental engagement, community partnerships and non-academic factors affecting the school experience.
There were a lot of agreements throughout the survey, along with some comments and concerns about various areas. One of the areas I spoke about was the idea of replacing the change component in the current accountability system, which compares this year’s indicator status scores to last year’s status scores for each school and district, with the idea of focusing on the growth in learning for each student.
This is where, in my opinion, we need to look at our data and the feedback we are receiving to help navigate the best way for us to support our students and their learning.
KDE and its partners will take the feedback collected during this fall convening and will present a new framework to the council members to consider in November. Such exciting things are going on throughout all of education and I am excited to see the opportunities we will create for our current and future generations.
Thank you for being …
All In,
Robbie Fletcher
Commissioner of Education
Career and Technical Education (CTE) Preview Release is Delayed
Release of career and technical education (CTE) data in the School Report Card (SRC) Suite Collection and Approval Portal has been delayed. School Report Card contacts and District Assessment Coordinators will be notified as data is available to review. The data being released is consistent with what has been reported in prior years, but the CTE data is being consolidated into its own domain. Schools and districts are asked to review this data as it becomes available in the Preview tool, raise flags if any issues are found and approve data confirming the review is completed.
Final accountability data is not yet available for the Career Readiness subdomain. If your district is anticipating a change to the Career Readiness numbers, hold off on approving, you should expect to see final data updates before public release.
Recorded training and other resources are available on the SRC Resource webpage.
KDE Releases 2023-2024 Safe Schools Annual Statistical Report
The Kentucky Department of Education, in compliance with KRS 158.444, has released the 2023-2024 Safe Schools Annual Statistical Report. This report examines statistics on the prevalence of safety incidents in schools involving assault, violence, weapons, tobacco, alcohol, drugs, bullying and harassment.
The purpose of this report is to identify trends in school safety data and to provide insights into the factors that may be contributing to safety incidents in schools. Examining the patterns and trends in these data is an important step in developing strategies for improving safety in schools and creating a safer learning environment for all students.
The report also shows trends in behavior resolutions that result in expulsion (with or without services), in-school removal, out-of-school suspension or corporal punishment. Lastly, the report highlights trends in behavior data as it relates to sex, race/ethnicity, grade level, socioeconomic status, location and context of the event.
For more information, contact Blake Konny.
Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Education Summit
The Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) and the Kentucky Chamber Foundation are excited to invite you to the upcoming Education Summit, taking place on Nov. 12 at the CVG Centre, part of the Greater Cincinnati Airport.
This event will connect educators with aviation industry leaders, providing insights into the growing field of aviation careers. The Education Summit will include:
- Employer panel to discuss educational support and workforce challenges;
- Employee panel to discuss career pathways in the aviation industry;
- Educator panel to discuss barriers, workforce needs, and opportunities for students; and
- Networking opportunities with industry professionals and fellow educators.
Registration is required and seats are limited, so please register by Nov. 4 by visiting the Education Summit registration page. For more information, please contact Jessica Warner.
KDE Seeks Nominations from Kentucky Schools for 2025 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) is seeking nominations from schools for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program.
This is not a scholarship; however, all scholars will be honored for their accomplishments during the National Recognition Program in June 2025 in Washington, D.C.
Presidential Scholars will be guests of the commissioner of the U.S. Department of Education (USED) during the National Recognition Program and receive an expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to meet with government officials, educators and other accomplished people. To commemorate their achievement, the scholars are awarded the U.S. Presidential Scholars medallion at a ceremony sponsored by the White House.
Each school may nominate three high school seniors: one male, one female and one career and technical education (CTE) student of any gender. KDE has more information about the criteria for CTE student candidates.
Schools are encouraged to nominate students who, while demonstrating outstanding scholarship, might not otherwise be nominated through the current ACT/SAT or arts recognition processes. For the arts component, students must participate in the YoungArts program through the National Foundation for the Advancement of Artists.
Considerations for Nomination
- What about the student makes them stand out as having outstanding scholarship?
- What is special about this student’s personal characteristics, leadership and service activities in the fields of academics, career education or the arts?
Staff Recommendations
To apply, school staff should decide who to recommend as Presidential Scholars and then complete the appropriate staff recommendation forms linked below for each student:
As a reminder, a school can recommend only three students: one male, one female and one CTE student.
Student Applications
After completing the staff recommendation form for each student, staff should contact the recommended students and ask them to complete one of the linked forms below:
Important Information
All applications must be submitted to KDE by Friday, Nov. 1. KDE will select and submit the names of 25 students to the USED. Please email Kathie Anderson if you have any questions or call her at (502) 564-4970, ext. 4133.
Declaration of Participation Data Due by Dec. 15
The Declaration of Participation is open in the Grant Management, Application, and Planning (GMAP) system.
Through this process, data will be collected to identify the number of students enrolled in private and home schools within each district’s boundaries. This data will be used to calculate school year 2025-2026 allocations for the following federal programs: Title II, Part A: Supporting Effective Instruction; Title III, Part A: Language Instruction for English Learners and Immigrant Students; Title IV, Part A: Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants; and IDEA-B: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Please review the Declaration of Participation webpage and its resources. Of particular interest is the “Resources for Districts” section, which includes several guidance and resource documents. Each district must complete and submit the data in GMAP by Dec. 15.
Please reach out to Amanda Reifsnyder with general questions about the data collection process. If you have specific programmatic or GMAP questions, please reach out to the following KDE staff:
- Title II-A: Dana Kelly, (502) 564-1479, ext. 4502.
- Title III, English Learner/Immigrant: Kaiman Triplett, (502) 564-4970, ext. 4089.
- Title IV-A: Lee Bowling, (502) 564-4772, ext. 4035.
- IDEA-B: Karla Miller, (502) 564-4970, ext. 4155.
- GMAP Technical Assistance: Thelma Hawkins, (502) 564-1979, ext. 4361.
Reading Diagnostic and Intervention Fund Mini-grant RFA Open for Fiscal Year 2025
The Kentucky Department of Education’s (KDE’s) Office of Teaching and Learning has issued a request for applications (RFA) for the fiscal year 2025 Reading Diagnostic and Intervention Fund mini-grants. Kentucky public school districts must apply on behalf of individual schools. The Kentucky School for the Blind and Kentucky School for the Deaf also are eligible to apply.
The RFA can be found on the Competitive Grants from KDE webpage.
As specified in KRS 158.792, the Reading Diagnostic and Intervention fund is created to help teachers and library media specialists improve the reading skills of struggling readers in kindergarten through 3rd grade. The Reading Diagnostic and Intervention Fund mini grant will help districts adopt high-quality instructional resources (HQIRs) that support the implementation of structured literacy practices for Tier 2 and/or Tier 3 reading instruction in kindergarten through 3rd grade. Primary, or Tier 1, HQIRs rated green on EdReports may be considered for purchase with mini-grant funds for the purpose of implementing Tier 2 instruction.
A district or school shall use funding to purchase instructional resources to support the implementation of structured literacy practices; to supplement, not replace, the classroom comprehensive reading program and align with the KDE’s definition of HQIRs as listed below:
- Aligned with the Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS) for Reading and Writing
- Research-based and/or externally validated;
- Comprehensive to include engaging texts (books, multimedia, etc.), tasks and assessments;
- Based on fostering vibrant student learning experiences;
- Culturally relevant, free from bias; and
- Accessible for all students.
Important Dates
- Oct. 29 at 4 p.m. ET: Deadline for questions. All questions must be sent to the KDE RFP inbox.
- Nov. 26 at 4 p.m. ET: Application submission deadline. All applications must be sent to the KDE RFP inbox.
- Review the links within the RFA for further guidance when writing the submission. If you have any questions, contact the KDE RFP inbox.
- Please pay close attention to the blinding/redacted language within the RFA. Improperly blinded grants will be deemed non-responsive and not eligible for an award.
Important Deadline Information for Career and Technical Education Data Reporting
Technical Education Database System (TEDS) attend hours data must be entered and uploaded by Nov. 15 for students enrolled in career and technical education (CTE) pathways in Term 1 (fall 2024).
Once the data has been imported, the Term 1 Attend Hours Report must be uploaded to the TEDS Attend Hours Confirmation Upload website. Because the TEDS system refreshes overnight, data imported today will not show until tomorrow.
Funding for CTE pathways for the 2025-2026 school could be impacted if the TEDS data has not been imported and the Term 1 Attend Hours Report has not been completed by Nov. 15. By submitting this report on the TEDS Attend Hours Confirmation Upload website, you are confirming that the data is accurate and should be used for funding purposes.
If you have any questions related to this process, please feel free to reach out to Amy Tracy. Detailed instructions on how to run the report and how to upload it have been sent to CTE coordinators, CTE TEDS users and CTE points of contact.
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