Education and the State of the Commonwealth

It was my honor to attend the State of the Commonwealth speech this week when Gov.Steve Beshear made his 8th and final such address. A written copy of the full speech is available online, as is a video and audio recording courtesy of KET.

It was very exciting to have the Governor list the amazing accomplishments in Kentucky that have taken place over the last seven years. He emphasized health care, workforce development and business climate accomplishments in the speech. And when citing progress, he often mentioned education, which has been realized with the vision and hard work of many – from the Capitol to the classroom. Some of the education highlights can be found below. 

“In education, we have energized reform efforts to focus on rigorous standards, aligned assessments and better preparing students for life after high school.  Unfortunately, for decades our education performance was cause for embarrassment.  And universities and employers alike were sounding the alarm: Kentucky students, they warned, were simply not prepared.  Today, student performance has improved tremendously, college and career readiness has skyrocketed and our graduation rates are climbing. 

“Back in 2011, education experts measured our college and career readiness rate at 38 percent.  In 2012, it jumped to 47 percent ;in 2013, 54 percent; and in 2014, to 62 percent. Meanwhile, our high school graduation rate in 2013 improved to 86.1 percent. That’s 12th, nationwide. And it’s better than all but two of our neighbors.” 

Note: in 2014, our graduation rate climbed to 87.4 percent and most certainly will place KY in top ten of states.

Gov. Beshear went on to talk about the significance of early childhood initiatives and the importance of education to the state’s economy.

“Step one in building a stronger workforce has focused on our youngest children. Too many Kentucky children were getting a poor start in life. Too many children were entering school with preventable health problems, undeveloped minds and little engagement in life around them. And as we all know, kids who start out behind rarely catch up. 

“So we worked to create an environment where every child – regardless of whether he or she is born in the inner city, in a mountain hollow, on a farm or in the suburbs – every child is given the opportunity to succeed. 

“To do this, we dramatically improved access to health care for children in low-income families. We targeted dental problems. We increased enrollment in preschool programs. And we developed a screener to gauge whether early education programs were preparing our kids to hit the ground running on day one of kindergarten. 

“In this session, we need to continue our momentum by adding accountability and transparency to all of our early childcare facilities. I will again seek legislation to implement the goals of what’s called the All-STARS plan – Accelerating Learning Statewide Through an Advanced Rating System. All-STARS addresses safety, continuing education for staff members, nutrition and age-appropriate curriculum. Look, we have health ratings for restaurants. Aren’t our children just as important? All parents deserve to know the quality of the place where they drop off their kids. 

“Step two in building a stronger workforce has been improving our schools so every graduate is prepared for success. That means tougher classes, and keeping kids in class. We were the first state to adopt rigorous Common Core academic standards. We were the second to adopt the Next Generation Science Standards. With Senate Bill 1 in 2009, we changed our testing system to make our schools more accountable. And we raised our graduation age from 16 to 18. We’ve also smoothed the transition from two-year colleges to four-year degree programs to save students time and money. 

“And recognizing that the four-year university path isn’t the best route for everyone, we’ve made our career and technical programs more rigorous and applicable to real-life jobs that demand high-level technical knowledge. These aren’t the so-called ‘shop classes’ of yesterday but modern training with a tough academic foundation. 

“We’re also working to improve the talent pipeline through modern apprentice programs like KY FAME, which combines work experience in advanced manufacturing with college classes. More than a dozen Central Kentucky manufacturers are participating in KY FAME, and it will be expanding soon. 

“We need to move quickly to implement the recommendations of the Dual Credit Task Force, helping students earn their degrees quicker and at less cost.”

In closing, the Governor talked about how to build a stronger Kentucky and the excitement about the progress Kentucky has made.

“A stronger Kentucky is also why the First Lady and I worked with Representatives Jeff Greer, Carl Rollins and Derrick Graham and Senators Mike Wilson, David Givens and Jimmy Higdon to raise Kentucky’s drop-out age and keep our kids in school. …

“My friends, we can hold our heads high once again. Because Kentucky is back, and we’re back with a vengeance. Once again, we are the talk of the nation.  And I’m not referring only to things like basketball, bourbon and horse-racing.  In the public and private halls of power, where the issues of today are being hammered out, Kentucky has become – once again – a national example of leadership and success. 

“In education, we’re the state that has completely turned its school system around – and other states continue to seek help in following in our footsteps. …

“So during this legislative session, we have a choice. 

“We can let ourselves get way-laid by things like partisan bickering, pending elections and Twitter-feed rhetoric. We can retreat, back-track or second-guess our progress.  Or we can accelerate Kentucky’s considerable momentum by remaining focused on the job before us. Join with me in continuing to improve our health, our workforce, our families and our economy. Join with me in continuing to build a Kentucky that is strong, vibrant, competitive and innovative. 

“Kentucky is back – and we’re not going to let up now.”

Prioritizing education from cradle to career

It was my honor to attend the 2014 State of the Commonwealth address by Governor Steve Beshear this week. Education was a highlight of the speech (to watch the speech click here; to listen to the speech click here).

I was very excited about the emphasis on cradle-to-career education. This phrase captures our work with early childhood, Senate Bill 1, college/career-readiness and the recent push from the Council on Postsecondary Education for “15 to Finish.” 

The Governor was very clear about the need to reinvest in education in order to ensure a highly skilled workforce for the future.  A strong workforce is an educated workforce, and Kentucky has made enormous progress in creating a seamless, cradle-to-career education system that is better preparing students for a complex world.

With special focus on early childhood education, raising the graduation rate, and increasing college- and career-readiness for all students, Kentucky’s schools are emerging as national leaders in education reform and measurable student progress.

In 2013, Education Week’s annual “Quality Counts” report ranked Kentucky in the top 10 states in student performance and education progress. The state is implementing the Graduation Bill passed last session, which will require students to stay in school until age 18. And last month, Kentucky won a $44.3 million federal Race to the Top grant to improve early learning programs for thousands of Kentucky preschoolers.

But schools have stretched their dollars as far as they can, the Governor warned, and will lose ground without new investment.

Kentucky has frozen SEEK – the basic funding formula for K-12 classrooms – for six years, even as student enrollment expanded, costs increased and local support in some areas dropped. Plus, budget pressures forced deep cuts in areas ranging from textbooks to teacher training and school safety. Meanwhile, because of impending federal sequester cuts, schools face the prospect of significant layoffs, increased classroom sizes and out-of-date technology.

“We are in danger of losing all of the positive momentum which has been built up. And I am not going to allow that to happen,” the Governor said. “I am determined to find money to reinvest in education – even if I have to make harmful cuts in other areas to do so.”

Fiscal discipline and aggressive managing of the budget – including some $1.6 billion in spending cuts – helped Kentucky get through the recession, but in some areas the cuts went deep enough to damage programs and services critical to building a stronger future.

“We cannot continue making progress by paying teachers less than they deserve, by ignoring needs like textbooks and technology, by delaying research into innovative energy production, by pricing college out of reach, by leaving needed cancer screenings unfunded, and by retreating from things like child care and mental health services,” Gov. Beshear said.

The Governor identified two possible sources of new, recurring revenue with which to make investments: tax reform -- increasing competitiveness by broadening our tax base and improving our business climate will help stabilize future budgets -- and gaming.

Gov. Beshear said he would ask the General Assembly again to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot related to expanded gaming.

Over the years several economic studies of various gaming scenarios have projected potential Kentucky tax revenues in the hundreds of millions of dollars – money that is currently crossing the border “to fund roads and schools in Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia and other states.”

Kentuckians “want to vote on this issue,” he said.