 Commissioner's Comments
Dear Colleagues:
While there are so many great and fulfilling moments as interim commissioner of education, last Tuesday was truly one of the best. That was the day we honored the 219 educators who obtained National Board certification in 2019 – the highest professional credential in the field of teaching.
Our state has been one of the national leaders in the number of teachers becoming certified. We had the fifth-largest class of new National Board Certified Teachers nationally in 2019, and we rank sixth in the nation for the percentage of teachers who are board-certified (9.53%) and eighth in the nation for the overall number of NBCTs, with 4,007 educators having earned their certifications.
While we have many National Board teachers, the road to obtaining that certification is difficult. An incredible personal sacrifice is made while going through this journey of self-reflection. And frankly, to a person, our teachers rarely mention these sacrifices because they are that committed to their profession.
For this, we are truly grateful and appreciative because we know that having a National Board Certified Teacher provides a direct benefit to our children in the classroom. We know that the children of the Commonwealth will be impacted in a positive way by all of their hard work and sacrifice.
I want to recognize all of our previous and newly certified National Board teachers for being committed to a profession that values continuous improvement and I want to thank each of you for the sacrifices you have made to improve yourself. Thank you for your hard work and sacrifice and for what you do each and every day for the students across the Commonwealth.
Sincerely,
Kevin C. Brown
Read more about the National Board ceremony on Kentucky Teacher!
At-Risk Afterschool Meals
The At-Risk Afterschool Meals component of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) offers federal funding to afterschool programs that serve a meal or snack to children up to age 18 in areas with at least 50% free or reduced-price meals enrollment. Meals and snacks can be served after the school bell, on weekends or during school breaks during the regular school year.
Programs must provide educational or enrichment activities that are open to all children in an organized, structured and supervised environment. Arts and crafts, homework assistance, life skills, remedial education and organized fitness activities are a few examples of approved enrichment activities.
Not only does the At-Risk Afterschool Meals component of CACFP provide a great service to the community, but districts also may receive significant revenue through reimbursement for meals served. Reimbursements are based on the number of meals and/or snacks served to children multiplied by the free rate for meals and snacks, respectively.
Examples of two actual claims for reimbursement received by participating districts for December 2019 are:
- Average daily attendance of 53, serving 13 days, received reimbursement of $3,147.03;
- Average daily attendance of 319, serving 12 days, received reimbursement of $12,835.55.
Kentucky currently has 80 school districts participating.
For more information, email Elizabeth Fiehler, CACFP manager in the Division of School and Community Nutrition, or call her at (502) 564-5625, ext. 4949.
Register Now for Curriculum Design and Implementation Guidance Leadership Meetings
In order to provide equitable learning environments for all students, it is important for schools and districts to translate the Kentucky Academic Standards into a guaranteed and viable curriculum. The regional educational cooperatives, in partnership with the Kentucky Department of Education, will host meetings in March for district and school leaders to examine a process for developing standards-aligned curriculum at the local level.
The March meetings will focus on building an understanding of the role of standards, curriculum and instructional resources, components of a curriculum development process as outlined in the revised “Model Curriculum Framework” and the toolkit of supporting resources. The session also will include an update on additional new resources available to support standards implementation.
Click on the date to learn more and register for the three-hour session of your choice. Additional dates and locations to reflect meetings in partnership with all educational cooperatives are still being finalized and will be made available as soon as possible.
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March 4: London, Southeast/South-Central Educational Cooperative, morning session or afternoon session.
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March 5: Hazard, Kentucky Valley Education Cooperative
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March 11: Ashland, Kentucky Educational Development Corporation
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March 17: Eddyville, West Kentucky Educational Cooperative
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March 18: Bowling Green, Green River Regional Educational Cooperative
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March 24: Lexington, Central Kentucky Educational Cooperative
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March 31: Florence, Ralph Rush Professional Development Center
Kentucky Facilities Inventory and Classification System Update
As of Feb. 14, the Kentucky Facilities Inventory and Classification System (KFICS) held 475 published facilities reports from 91 districts. About one-third of the school facilities now on board, but there still is a long way to go before all school facilities are in the inventory.
The staff at the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) appreciates the amount of work being done at the district level to complete these audits and surveys in order to have them become part of the published condition report. We also understand everyone’s desire to see where their facilities are in terms of condition compared to other facilities in the state. To keep everyone informed, KDE is creating a link on its website to let anyone interested have access to the most current monthly report.
The necessary changes to the website are being made and monthly publications will start in early March. The link will be provided within the next couple of weeks. For more information, email Donna Duncan.
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