Superintendent Challenges

This week I met with the executive board of the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents (KASS) and Executive Director Wilson Sears. The purpose of the meeting was to hear about the frustration that superintendents are feeling about recent actions and the negative impact this has had on the morale of superintendents across Kentucky.

I can hardly criticize our superintendents for their concerns. Over the last few years, we have seen significant reductions in funding for schools.  As a superintendent, it is extremely difficult to propose a budget to a school board that reduces staff and services to students.

The continued decline of state funds for education and the impending impact of federal sequestration are very real issues. Coupled with declining resources and increased demands from Senate Bill 1 (2009) and the No Child Left Behind waiver, you have conditions that most certainly will impact morale.

Another issue that has certainly impacted superintendents has been the actions of a few bad actors. Most of our Kentucky superintendents are doing a terrific job for the students in their communities, in spite of budget reductions and many challenges of declining enrollments and increasing numbers of children in poverty. However, recent audits in districts like Mason, Breathitt and Dayton Independent have cast a cloud over superintendents and school boards in Kentucky.

These issues are not isolated to superintendents. All of our educators are beginning to feel very frustrated with the increasing gap between expectations and resources.  This week in The New York Times, I read an interesting editorial, The Kids Are (Not) All Right, by Charles Blow that further describes the challenges our educators are facing.

As commissioner, I made a commitment to our superintendents to provide many more opportunities for them to speak to me directly about their concerns and challenges. Also, I made a commitment to find ways to highlight the many positive things that are happening in our schools under the leadership of many dedicated leaders.

I have to applaud our educators in Kentucky. Even with all of the challenges they are facing and the frequent criticism they receive from many sources, I always find they are dedicated to children and helping all children achieve college- and career-readiness.

Certainly, times are tough but I know we have many leaders at all levels that will rise to the challenge. My job as commissioner is to be a constant advocate for what they need to do their job and to also be a constant advocate for the improvements that need to be made to help more children be successful. Balancing these two sometimes competing interests is a challenge. Some days I get it right and many days I fail but my resolve is to work for more balance.

Teacher Preparation Improvement

This week, Kentucky received some good news about our progress in educating students. Indeed, Kentucky has made significant progress in education results since 1992. However, the report also showed that the U.S. is in the middle of the pack with regard to pace of education improvement.

My takeaway from the report is that yes, Kentucky has made great improvements, but we have much work to do to ensure our students are competitive in today’s global environment. To accelerate the pace of improvement in Kentucky and the nation, a key strategy will be to improve teacher preparation programs.

Currently, there are three major initiatives being conducted that will address teacher preparation programs. The U.S. Department of Education will soon announce new rules and guidelines for Title II that will impact teacher preparation. These guidelines will require states to evaluate teacher programs based on levels of performance and also will require states to report on teacher preparation programs based on the student learning results of the programs’ graduates. Also, the guidelines will require either state or national accreditation of programs.

The second initiative relates to the accreditation process for teacher preparation programs. The former National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) accreditation groups have merged into the Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). Currently, I am serving on a commission to develop the new accreditation standards for teacher preparation programs for CAEP.

Finally, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) is working to define classroom-ready and leadership-ready standards for teachers and principals. This work is very similar to the work that CCSSO did on the Common Core Standards and principles for accountability that were the basis for the No Child Left Behind waivers that 26 states have now received.

While these initiatives represent three distinct approaches to improving teacher preparation programs, they are being informed by each other, and the outcomes from the work will be very similar. Because Kentucky and the nation must improve student learning outcomes so that our students are college- and career-ready, it is a given that the most important strategy to accomplish this vision is to ensure we have teachers in every classroom that are prepared to meet the challenge.

Our teacher preparation programs have done excellent work for many generations, but the challenges that today’s teachers are facing are much more difficult than ever before. We are asking teachers to not only provide equity of access, but to also provide equity of outcomes. These outcomes are much higher than at any point in the history of our nation.

Challenges and Changing Times

Highlights from my remarks to the Kentucky Association of School Administrators Summer Conference in Louisville this morning.

A quote that I often use in presentations comes from Martin Luther King, Jr. “A man’s true measure is not where he stands in moments of comfort but in times of challenge.”

Given the many challenges that we face in Kentucky and across the nation, I think this quote is very much on target. As leaders, we have to make a decision. Will we rise to the challenge or will we fold under the pressure? As the leader of P-12 education in Kentucky, I am asking you today to rise to the challenge of leadership during difficult times.

Why is it so important to rise to this challenge? Over the past few weeks, there have been some remarkable events in our world. Amazon recently announced that the sale of e-books exceeded the sale of paper books for the first time in history. The U.S. is no longer the number-one user of energy in the world. We have been replaced by China. A Department of Agriculture employee’s video clips went viral and overshadowed the passage of the most expansive financial reform legislation since the Great Depression. Another story that went viral this week concerned an 11-year-old who was provided a computer, webcam and unrestricted Internet access by her parents, then became the brunt of an e-attack by a powerful online user group whose stated purpose is to attack people who annoy them. A report revealed that the nation has gone from leading the world in percentage of 25- to 34-year-olds with a postsecondary degree to lagging most of the industrialized nations (we rank 12th now). Another report documents that, in the 1970s, the percentage of the workforce with a high school degree or less was more than 70 percent. The same report predicts that almost 70 percent of the workforce in 2018 will need a postsecondary degree.

With a 1.5 percent decrease in funding, our challenges seem to pale in comparison to the other challenges around us. Furloughs seem insignificant when compared against what is happening to the citizens in Louisiana and other states as a result of the oil spill. As we fly our flags at half-staff in Kentucky to honor fallen soldiers, I do not take a lot of time concerning myself with who is hosting or not hosting a political fundraiser. What I challenge each of us to do is focus on the bigger picture of enabling the generation of children we have in front of us today to become better educated and more employable in the future. In 1990, bold leaders faced with difficult times did not back away from the challenge of KERA. Bold leaders stepped up to the plate and made a difference for a generation of children.

In 2010, we are provided another opportunity to also be bold leaders. We have been provided the platform for transforming the educational experience for a generation of children. In my 39 years of education, I have never seen the alignment so clear. Senate Bill 1, Race to the Top, the reauthorization of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Governor’s Transforming Education in Kentucky Task Force are providing the road map to a brighter future for Kentucky children.

Let us not waste this opportunity to reshape the future. Let us not be sidetracked by the barriers and challenges we are faced with on a daily basis. So I ask … where will you stand in these challenging times? Will you join me in standing up for increasing the rigor of our academic standards in Kentucky? Will you stand up for measuring the effectiveness of teachers, principals, school-based councils, superintendents and school boards in part based on student learning outcomes? Will you stand up for better assessments that measure what children should be able to do rather than simple recall of facts? Will you stand up for the goal of EVERY child graduating from high school ready for college and career?

And most of all … will you stand up for the least among the children? Will you stand up for closing achievement gaps and ensuring that every child regardless of wealth, gender, color or zip code not only has the opportunity for success, but actually succeeds in school?

Thank you for rising to this challenge. You make a difference in your schools and districts. You make a difference for children. You make a difference for the future of Kentucky. Best wishes on a successful start to the school year!