 Preston Graham, a senior at Woodford County High School and Patrick Grabovity, a senior at North Oldham High School, discuss vibrant learning initiatives during the Commissioner’s Student Advisory Council meeting on April 28. Photo by Myles Young, Kentucky Department of Education, April 28, 2026.
(FRANKFORT, KY) – Members of the Kentucky Department of Education’s (KDE’s) Commissioner’s Student Advisory Council presented their final project, an introduction video for a campaign promoting Individual Learning Plans, during their meeting on April 28.
Throughout the school year, Commissioner’s Student Advisory Council members have been reviewing Individual Learning Plan (ILP) and postsecondary planning resources to propose how they might be maximized to ensure a meaningful post-high school transition.
As defined in 704 KAR 19:002, the ILP is a “comprehensive framework for advising students in grades 6 through 12 to engage in coursework and activities that will best prepare them to both realize college and career success and become contributing members of their communities.”
During their February meeting, council members decided that for their final project for this year’s council, they would create a promotional video for a statewide campaign promoting the ILP and other postsecondary resources.
The ILP Commercial Showcase, which will begin after the start of the 2026-2027 school year, involves giving students around the state the opportunity to submit commercials that define what the ILP is and how they use it in their district to help plan their future. Select commercials will be shared on KDE’s social media channels.
Commissioner of Education Robbie Fletcher said ILPs are a great way for students to personalize their high school pathways and have more vibrant learning experiences that align with what they want to do after high school.
“We want you to have choice,” Fletcher said. “That's why the ILP is so important because there are so many parts. If you look at your science and social studies courses, they should be catered to what your Individual Learning Plan can be.”
Kentucky Teacher of the Year Champions Vibrant Learning
The 2026 Kentucky Teacher of the Year Michelle Gross, a math teacher at Spencer County Middle School, spoke to the council about her work with vibrant learning experiences in her classroom.
Vibrant learning is learning that’s meaningful, engaging and connected to real life. These experiences move beyond traditional classroom instruction, often using projects as a way for students to spark curiosity, creativity and collaboration.
Gross said when she started teaching, she worked hard to plan and deliver the best traditional lessons she could, but some of her students didn’t understand the lessons.
“I watched my students struggle and they didn't get it, and it took that moment for me of realizing I was doing the thinking; my students weren't doing the thinking,” Gross said. “So that shift in my classroom came in the form of project-based learning, … I wanted my students involved in doing the work. So vibrant learning through the Kentucky Department of Education has those key components: student-centered and personalized learning.”
One vibrant learning project that Gross leads is the ratios recipe project. Students pick a recipe and use math to scale it up for a crowd or scale it down to feed just a few people. Then they cook the food, either for their family or their class.
Gross also started a class initiative called the Dream Homearama project, where each January, math students design and build a model of their dream house. Using the math they learn in class, students draw their house to scale on blueprints. Then they design it digitally and build 3D models using whatever materials they want. Students then get the opportunity to present their models to community members and local professionals at the annual Dream Homearama event.
“The cool thing about it is it's connecting the school to the community,” Gross said. “This community is seeing the cool things that are going on and that's how you build that support. … I love doing this activity along with others, because to me the important thing is creating opportunities for my students to see authenticity in their learning and to really know what vibrant learning experiences are.”
Gross said she hopes schools can create more vibrant learning experiences. She encouraged council members to learn more about vibrant learning experiences and talk to their teachers about how helpful they are to students.
“Write them a letter, send them a message, talk to them in person, tell them what you appreciate about vibrant learning experiences,” Gross said. “You have a seat at this table. You have a lot of things going on here and you've got a lot of influence, but you have just as much influence in your classroom with your teachers. So, if you go and you tell your teacher who's creating those vibrant learning experiences how much you appreciate what they're doing, that will go a long way.”
She also encouraged students to talk to their school administrators and school board members about vibrant learning experiences and how they can bring more of them to the classroom.
Final Council Meeting Reflections
As the last meeting for this school year, council members reflected on their accomplishments, their time on the council and goals they had set at the beginning of the school year.
Sophie Johnston, a sophomore at Morgan County High School, said she set academic goals at the beginning of the school year and those goals evolved as she evolved as a person throughout the course of the year.
“This is a very important moment in our lives that we're growing much more frequently than we will, and through all that, I did accomplish the goals I set,” Johnston said. “But I also realized that if I set my goals higher and I don't accomplish them, I'm working toward bigger things and I'm pushing myself and finding my limit instead of setting my limit below where it could be.”
Manas Garla, a senior at Western Hills High School (Franklin County), said as part of the council, he appreciated getting to talk with peers in other areas of the state to hear their perspectives.
“The biggest takeaway I have from this council is just getting to see so many different opinions and different thoughts and different experiences from all over the state and even further, because I know a lot of people here have experiences outside of Kentucky too,” Garla said. “Just getting to connect here and then getting to form that one big consensus with so many different perspectives all around us is pretty cool.”
New members of the student advisory council to replace graduating seniors are expected to be announced by KDE in June.
|
