A 4-year degree isn’t the only path to success

I ran across an interesting report this week with evidence that associate degrees and certificates can be a viable path to the middle-class. The report has significant implications for Kentucky as we begin to reform our Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. We anticipate significant recommendations and budget requests focused on CTE reforms during the 2016 session of the General Assembly. The Colorado report could provide a goal and key measures for this legislation – an increase in associate degrees and certificates that are linked to key industry sectors in Kentucky and provide the opportunity to earn a living wage.

Here are a couple of the findings:

     •  While Colorado, like Kentucky, offers many pathways for postsecondary degrees, the fastest growing sector is the associate degree.

     •  Short-term certificates that take less than one year to complete and have a significant payoff within 5-10 years after earning the certificate. With certain certificates, average earnings exceed $50,000 compared with bachelor’s degree earnings of $55,000.

     •  An associate degree in applied science has far more value than an associate degree in art or science. An associate degree in applied science has essentially the same average earnings after 5-10 years as a bachelor’s degree. The most popular applied science areas and those identified as being in industry sectors that have significant job openings are registered nursing, allied health diagnostics and fire protection.

Possible next steps for Kentucky that should be integrated into legislation include:

     •  Identify industry sectors that have significant numbers of job openings.

     •  Within these industry sectors identify certificates and associate degrees that enable students to compete for available jobs.

     •  All certificate and associate programs should utilize business and industry to regularly identify and refresh the skills and competencies needed in available jobs.

     •  High schools and community colleges should work closely to align career pathways to ensure students have a seamless experience.

     •  Every career pathway should lead to an industry-recognized certificate and/or appropriate associate degree.

     •  Heavy emphasis should be placed on dual credit opportunities to reduce the cost of postsecondary education as a student works toward an industry certification and/or associate degree.

Reforming career and technical education in Kentucky should not be based on anecdotal information. We must move forward based on hard data from industry and economic development. Preparing a workforce for the future will be the best economic development tool for Kentucky as we recruit business and industry to our state and local communities.

Kentucky’s chapter in the education reform story

This week I had the opportunity to speak to education writers from across the United States at their national seminar in Nashville.  The Education Writers Association includes journalists, researchers, teachers, policymakers and others with an interest in improving the public discourse surrounding education. The organization is dedicated to improving the quality and quantity of education coverage to create a better-informed society.  Several of the journalists who regularly cover education in Kentucky were in attendance.

The organization asked me to share Kentucky’s education reform story.  By all accounts it is a success, though we still have a long way to go to achieve our goal of college/career-readiness for all.  The following are some of the thoughts I shared with them as the reasons for our accomplishments.

When they write the Kentucky chapter in the book describing education reform, they will certainly mention the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990. I hope they will also highlight the era of Race to the Top, Federal Stimulus Funds and No Child Left Behind Waivers. Kentucky’s leadership in education reform is well documented and is part of the culture for education in Kentucky.

The Kentucky chapter documenting the reform period from 2008-2016 should begin with the foundation that was developed through the passage of major legislation in 2009. Senate Bill 1 (SB1) passed with no dissenting votes. SB 1 required new college-ready standards, assessments, accountability systems, and support for educators in implementing. Perhaps the most unique part of the legislation was the requirement for collaboration between higher education and K-12 education on setting college-ready standards.

When the Kentucky chapter is written, a few key initiatives should be highlighted.

1. It really helps to be the first. Kentucky was first to adopt and 
        implement common core state standards, first to assess the 
        standards, and first to implement an accountability system 
        based on the standards. By being first we were able to 
        chart our own course. There was no major opposition since 
        we had 100 percent support from legislators and the 
        Governor. Also, there were no other states for people to 
        compare us to.
2. We worked to develop a broad base of support. We developed 
        a strong communications plan with key partners. Our 
        educators stayed involved and informed through every 
        phase. Parents received communication on why we needed 
        more rigorous standards and assessments and how this would 
        impact their children. Business leaders received packets of 
        materials from the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce to help 
        them lead the reform efforts in their communities.
3. From the very beginning we made a decision to involve 
        teachers in every step of implementation. We pulled more 
        than 1,300 teachers, principals, and district leaders together 
        every month for two years to help us plan for implementation 
        and monitor and adjust implementation plans. Every school 
        and every school district developed a comprehensive plan 
        for implementation and support for the new standards
4. We made a decision not to rush the teacher, principal, and 
        superintendent evaluation procedures. We heavily involved 
        educators to develop evaluation models linked to the new 
        standards and assessments. As a result, we have widespread
        support this year as every district piloted the new evaluation 
        systems and next year, all teachers, principals, and 
        superintendents will utilize the state evaluation procedures.
5. Finally, our state is committed to a continuous improvement 
        approach. We know we must continue to listen and learn from 
        students, parents, teachers, and community leaders. Just 
        one example of our continuous improvement approach is our 
        Kentucky Core Academic Standards Challenge which will launch 
        in August. We are asking every citizen in Kentucky to read the 
        standards and provide comments and suggestions on how to 
        improve the standards so we reach our goal of every student 
        reaching college- and career-readiness.

Finally, I hope the Kentucky chapter will close with the record of success we have enjoyed. Our high school graduation rate is among the top in the nation and our college- and career-readiness rate has improved from 34 percent to 54 percent since we adopted common core standards. 

Education Reform: What is a Chief to Do?

This week I had the opportunity to welcome participants to the International Symposium on Education Reform (ISER) that was hosted by Lars Bjork, Ph.D. and the University of Kentucky. It was great to see representatives from across the globe coming to Kentucky to discuss education reform. I offered a “chief’s” perspective on education reform. I divide the education reform issue into basically two camps – the reformers and the defenders.

Education reformers across the U.S. seem to have a few commonalities. The key tenet of the reformers is that public schools are failing as evidenced by national and international ranks in testing. The reformers claim that in order to “fix” public schools, we must have greater emphasis on assessment and accountability; choice options (charters and vouchers); improving teacher and principal evaluation systems; improving teacher preparation programs; addressing contract issues such as LIFO (last in, first out), tenure, pension and health care; data-driven decision making; and standardized teaching and learning.

The defenders blame poverty and changing demographics for the low performance of our public schools on national and international assessments. They say our top-performing schools are as good as any in the world, and most of these top-performing U.S. schools have very low poverty rates. In order to “fix” our public schools, they look to Finland for the answer. Finland focuses on elevating teaching as a profession and does not have annual standardized tests; teachers focus on assessment to improve instruction and learning; teacher preparation was reformed; teachers are seen as action researchers; and the social welfare system helps alleviate problems around poverty and demographics.

As a chief state school officer, my job is to balance the reformers and the defenders as we seek to help more students graduate college- and career-ready. The key strategies I use are to honor the terrific work that our educators have done in Kentucky for the last 20 years. Focus the conversation on the challenges of increased poverty and changing demographics, do not blame any group. Encourage collaboration and professional dialogue with all stakeholders about the education changes necessary to help more students succeed. Build relations with all stakeholder groups so there is some level of trust and mutual respect. And finally, communicating through as many channels as possible.

These are indeed difficult times in our nation as the need to improve education and improve the economy are inextricably linked; however, I know that Kentucky educators and key policy makers will continue to lead the way in making the right decisions about education reform as we ensure a brighter future for children.

Transforming Education in Kentucky

It was my honor to accompany Governor Steve Beshear and Secretary of the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet Helen Mountjoy on a ten-city tour across Kentucky this week. The governor utilized this time to conduct press conferences and town hall meetings. The content of the governor’s speech focused on several key areas:
· Kentucky is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Rose case, where Kentucky said that failure of our education system was not an option.
· Kentucky has made progress during the last 20 years as measured by numerous academic measures.
· We have many excellent initiatives going on in education in Kentucky (Early Childhood Task Force, Graduate Kentucky, Senate Bill 1 and Race to the Top, to name but a few examples).
· It is time to refocus our energy and align our work around what the citizens of Kentucky expect from their education system.

Gov. Beshear has appointed a task force comprised of 30-plus individuals representing all areas of the state and various stakeholder groups. I am honored to serve with the governor as co-chair of the task force. We hope to begin meetings in November or early December. The first several months will be focused on fact-finding about all the excellent programs that already exist and challenges that we are facing.

The governor was very clear that we are in a difficult period of budget for the next two years, and we should not expect new dollars for new initiatives. However, we should not let funding be a stumbling block. Now is the time to prepare for the future and be poised, ready with recommendations by November 2010 in time for the 2011 legislative session.

Several key agenda items were mentioned by Gov. Beshear during his speeches. Increasing early childhood education opportunities, increasing opportunities for students to get college credit while in high school, increasing the rigor of our career and technical programs so they are seen as options of first choice, and decreasing dropouts and increasing graduation rates were among those specific items that the governor requested the task force to review.

Of utmost importance will be listening to parents, teachers, administrators, students and community members. The task force will schedule additional town hall meetings to hear from all of these groups on how best to transform public education so that all of the children in Kentucky graduate and are prepared for success in the 21st century.