The last few weeks have seen exciting developments. As a reminder, Governor Steve Beshear established a “Transforming Education in Kentucky” task force in the fall of 2009. For more information on the task force and the final report, go to http://tek.ky.gov. While there were a number of recommendations, over the past few weeks we have seen follow-up activity on two recommendations.
1. As recommended by the Governor’s Task Force on Early Childhood Development and Education, Kentucky’s education policy leaders should reorganize the Early Childhood Development Authority, renaming it the Early Childhood Advisory Council; create a system of support for students at all levels of kindergarten-readiness, including parent education and learning; and create common developmentally appropriate school readiness standards and instruments.
Recently, Governor Beshear held a press conference to announce the selection of Terry Tolan (former president and CEO of the United Way of Kentucky) to lead the Early Childhood Advisory Council. The first action for the council is to submit an Early Learning Challenge Grant application as part of the Race to the Top federal initiative. The grant application will build on the excellent work that has already been done by the early childhood task force.
Key implications for school districts are the establishment of school readiness standards, a common instrument for measuring school readiness, uniform standards (rating system) for all child care providers and a K-3 Program Review to ensure that schools are ready for children. The grant application is due in mid-October, with announcement of funding coming in late November or early December. Thirty-five states and the District of Columbia have filed intentions to apply for the $500 million available. Kentucky is eligible for up to $60 million. It is anticipated that 5-10 states will receive awards.
A second recommendation dealt with career and technical education in Kentucky schools.
2. The Governor should establish a steering committee to include the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) and other external partners representing local district CTE staff, Office of Career and Technical Education (OCTE) field staff, CPE, Educational Professional Standards Board (EPSB), KDE and workforce leaders to develop a comprehensive statewide plan for implementing secondary Career & Technical Education with an emphasis on innovation, integration of core academics, 21st-century skills, project-based learning and the establishment of full-time CTE programs. The steering committee’s plan should include a new delivery system that integrates and elevates the two offices in KDE and OCTE currently delivering CTE. The plan should be submitted to the legislature’s Interim Joint Committee on Education no later than October 1, 2011, for implementing legislation to be adopted by the 2012 General Assembly.
Education and Workforce Development Cabinet Secretary Joe Meyer and I have named the steering committee members, and the first meeting was held. For more information on the activities of the committee, see notes from the meeting at http://tek.ky.gov. Several work groups are meeting in order to delve deeper into details. These groups are studying professional development, Carl Perkins funding, sector strategy, curriculum and operations. School districts should stay informed of the recommendations that will come from these work groups to the steering committee.
With both of these activities, the collaboration has been exceptional. It is very apparent that Kentucky is working “together” to improve the future for our children.
Showing posts with label transforming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label transforming. Show all posts
Friday, July 22, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Next Steps for Transforming Education in Kentucky Task Force
On February 21, the final report of the Transforming Education in Kentucky Task Force, Breaking New Ground, was released to the public. This task force was appointed by Governor Steven L. Beshear in October 2009 and worked over a period of 15 months studying Kentucky’s education system in order to provide recommendations to the Governor for transforming the state’s education system to meet the needs of 21st-century students.
The report contains 35 recommendations “... that would serve as a blueprint for how schools throughout the Commonwealth can make prompt and significant gains in school readiness, student proficiency, the closing of persistent achievement gaps, graduation rates and college and career readiness and how elected leaders can develop a supportive state policy environment.”
As commissioner, I will be pushing hard for three major areas of the recommendations from the task force.
The first effort centers on career and technical education (CTE). While we have some excellent programs in Kentucky through both the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet Area Technical Centers and the Carl D. Perkins programs at many of our high schools, the Governor’s task force recommended that we look at ways to elevate and integrate CTE. We will be convening a work group very soon that will include key legislators and other stakeholders. We will be asking this group to make legislative and budget recommendations for the 2012 session that will elevate and integrate career and technical education. CTE is a major tool for our efforts to increase the number of graduates who are college/career ready.
The second area of focus is alternative education. Over 75,000 students in Kentucky are in some form of alternative education; however, our data system to track the progress of these students is in great need of improvement. We will be convening a group of experts to develop legislative language and budget language for the 2012 session that will hopefully address three areas of improvement. The first area is a definition of alternative education. We must develop a definition that includes a continuum of alternative education. Alternative education could include but not be limited to behavior programs, digital learning, blended learning, early graduation, dual credit, mastery based, performance-based and other non-traditional approaches that we have not yet developed. Second, we must do a better job of tracking the data for alternative programs. We must track attendance, assignment, student results, interventions and funding. Finally, we need to address assignment to alternative programs not only for students but also staff.
Readers will recognize the two areas (career and technical education and alternative education) as major components not only of the Governor’s task force but also the graduation bill that was proposed in the recent session. These two areas have the potential to have a huge impact on graduation rates and college/career ready rates.
Finally, we will see a continued focus on early childhood education. I strongly support and will work with the Kentucky Board of Education to support, in the upcoming legislative session, the recommendations from the Governor’s task force toward funding for full-day kindergarten and increasing the number of children served in preschool programs. At the Kentucky Department of Education, we also have begun work on a Program Review for primary grades that would include kindergarten readiness standards and assessments, diagnostic assessments in primary grades and tracking students from kindergarten entry to end-of-3rd grade proficiency in math and reading. We hope to add this Program Review in the 2012-13 school year as part of the accountability model.
The Governor’s Transforming Education in Kentucky Task Force recommendations are alive, and many groups are working to implement the recommendations. We will have an annual report to the Kentucky Board of Education and the citizens of Kentucky on our progress.
The report contains 35 recommendations “... that would serve as a blueprint for how schools throughout the Commonwealth can make prompt and significant gains in school readiness, student proficiency, the closing of persistent achievement gaps, graduation rates and college and career readiness and how elected leaders can develop a supportive state policy environment.”
As commissioner, I will be pushing hard for three major areas of the recommendations from the task force.
The first effort centers on career and technical education (CTE). While we have some excellent programs in Kentucky through both the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet Area Technical Centers and the Carl D. Perkins programs at many of our high schools, the Governor’s task force recommended that we look at ways to elevate and integrate CTE. We will be convening a work group very soon that will include key legislators and other stakeholders. We will be asking this group to make legislative and budget recommendations for the 2012 session that will elevate and integrate career and technical education. CTE is a major tool for our efforts to increase the number of graduates who are college/career ready.
The second area of focus is alternative education. Over 75,000 students in Kentucky are in some form of alternative education; however, our data system to track the progress of these students is in great need of improvement. We will be convening a group of experts to develop legislative language and budget language for the 2012 session that will hopefully address three areas of improvement. The first area is a definition of alternative education. We must develop a definition that includes a continuum of alternative education. Alternative education could include but not be limited to behavior programs, digital learning, blended learning, early graduation, dual credit, mastery based, performance-based and other non-traditional approaches that we have not yet developed. Second, we must do a better job of tracking the data for alternative programs. We must track attendance, assignment, student results, interventions and funding. Finally, we need to address assignment to alternative programs not only for students but also staff.
Readers will recognize the two areas (career and technical education and alternative education) as major components not only of the Governor’s task force but also the graduation bill that was proposed in the recent session. These two areas have the potential to have a huge impact on graduation rates and college/career ready rates.
Finally, we will see a continued focus on early childhood education. I strongly support and will work with the Kentucky Board of Education to support, in the upcoming legislative session, the recommendations from the Governor’s task force toward funding for full-day kindergarten and increasing the number of children served in preschool programs. At the Kentucky Department of Education, we also have begun work on a Program Review for primary grades that would include kindergarten readiness standards and assessments, diagnostic assessments in primary grades and tracking students from kindergarten entry to end-of-3rd grade proficiency in math and reading. We hope to add this Program Review in the 2012-13 school year as part of the accountability model.
The Governor’s Transforming Education in Kentucky Task Force recommendations are alive, and many groups are working to implement the recommendations. We will have an annual report to the Kentucky Board of Education and the citizens of Kentucky on our progress.
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