Commissioner's Comments

Dear Colleagues:

I think one of the hardest things about running a school or district during the age of COVID-19 is the uncertainty of it all. With a steady and disturbing increase in the number of new cases being reported on a daily basis, the anxiety about what is going to happen this school year also is on the rise among students, families, staff and I’m sure, among you, too.

As the weather turns colder and more activities are moved indoors, I think we are entering a phase where we’re likely to see more stops and starts of in-person classes through the fall and winter months.

As you know, the Kentucky Department for Public Health (DPH) developed a metric to help you make decisions about when it is safer to return to in-person instruction. It was created – at the request of many superintendents – to serve as a way to start conversations in communities about the best way to move forward. This metric provides a straightforward way for school district leaders to see the level of community transmission, but I know the decisions about what is best for students and the community are difficult and are choices between imperfect options.

I do want to stress that our mitigation efforts put forth in our flagship document, “Guidance on Safety Expectations and Best Practices for Kentucky Schools,” seem to be working well. 

While there is no such thing as holding in-person classes risk-free, the measures put forth by DPH and the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) that are now being implemented in schools across Kentucky seem (so far) to be effective. This is in line with what we have seen nationally and internationally. It seems possible to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, so long as we remain vigilant about our procedures and our community does their part.

I think what is required now when a county turns red due to COVID-19 infections is a broader conversation about what the community at-large is doing to limit new infections. While transmission is certainly possible in schools, it is not limited to schools. There will always be an increased risk of virus transmission while COVID-19 positivity rates are high. We must find ways for people in our communities to support our schools by doing their part to keep community transmissions under control.

I know many of you are struggling with trying to find the right path for you, your students, your teachers and your staff. I urge you to make decisions informed by the best data that is available at the time using the tools provided by public health and to find ways to bring your communities into that conversation.

I also briefly wanted to mention the 2021 Kentucky Teacher of the Year ceremony that took place last Thursday. The was the program’s first virtual ceremony in its 20-year history, which you can still watch on the KDE Media Portal.

It was a fantastic experience that highlighted the best of what we do every day. This year’s winners were Donnie Piercey of Fayette County, 2021 Kentucky Teacher of the Year and Elementary Teacher of the Year; Laura Peavley of Jefferson County, Middle School Teacher of the Year; and Christopher McCurry of Fayette County, High School Teacher of the Year.

You can read more about them and what led to their selection on Kentucky Teacher. I hope you’ll help me congratulate them and thank them for everything they do for the Commonwealth’s children. I was honored to preside at the ceremony and I’ll be watching with interest to see what they do next.

I also want to remind you to fill out the Kentucky Education Feedback Survey. The survey should take less than 5 minutes to complete. If you have not yet had a chance, please share your thoughts. As leaders of your district, it is important that we hear from you about what you think is working and what is not. It will be open through Nov. 20.

Kind regards,

Jason E. Glass, Ed.D.

Commissioner & Chief Learner

Introduction to 'The Framework for Remote Teaching Guide' (Danielson Group)

The Office of Educator Licensure and Effectiveness (OELE) and the Central Kentucky Educational Cooperative (CKEC) are providing a learning opportunity from the Principal Partnership Project (P3) Team for school and district leaders to explore the Danielson Remote Teaching resources. 

• When: Nov. 5, 10 a.m. OR 1 p.m. ET Choose one of the two sessions when you register.
• Registration Link: https://forms.gle/cwNg54DdZz9s2cVP8

This guide, though aligned to the Kentucky Framework for Teaching, reflects some important shifts in response to the 2020-2021 context:

• A focus on fewer components: In order to better support educators in the context of online learning and remote instruction, eight components are highlighted in the tool.
• Updated language at the element level: These changes are especially important to online instruction. 
• Additional priorities, actions and strategies that align to accomplished and exemplary practice, are focused on supporting students’ learning and well-being, and can help increase student autonomy and success within the digital landscape.

Join with your colleagues in large and small group conversations about how to support teachers using the Danielson Group resources. For more information, email Jenny Ray.

Watch Comprehensive District and School Improvement Plans Webinar; Phase Two Deadline Nov. 1 

The Kentucky Department of Education has prepared a webinar that includes the most up-to-date guidance regarding Comprehensive District Improvement Plans, Comprehensive School Improvement Plans and eProve. 

Each district’s superintendent and each school’s principal is strongly encouraged to view the 2020-2021 Comprehensive Improvement Planning webinar. A transcript of the webinar also is available. The webinar discusses the planning timeline, compliance monitoring, 2020-2021 goal-building templates and navigating eProve. 

Phase Two of the planning process began Oct. 1, and districts and schools are required to complete and submit the following diagnostics in eProve: 

• Needs Assessment for Schools
• Needs Assessment for Districts
• School Assurances
• District Assurances
• School Safety Report
• District Safety Report

The deadline for submitting the diagnostics is Nov. 1.

The purpose of the diagnostics is to encourage thoughtful reflection of a district or school’s current processes, practices and conditions in order to leverage its strengths and identify critical needs, particularly during this unprecedented time. As a reminder, district diagnostics should be completed at the systems level in eProve, while schools complete diagnostics at the school level. For additional information regarding creating new diagnostics, consult the eProve user manual.    

Visit KDE’s Comprehensive Improvement Planning webpage for additional guidance on improvement plans. Email Natasha Stein or Ruth Swanson with eProve questions and for assistance. Email Doug Roberts for more information about school or district safety reports. 

Superintendent School Counselor Survey Required by Nov. 1

Legislation passed during the 2019 session (KRS 158.4416) requires districts to report information on certified school counselors. The legislation requires:

“No later than November 1, 2019, and each subsequent year, the local school district superintendent shall report to the department the number and placement of school counselors in the district. The report shall include the source of funding for each position, as well as a summary of the job duties and work undertaken by each counselor and the approximate percent of time devoted to each duty over the course of the year.”

Districts should email this information to Damien Sweeney by Nov. 1 using this superintendent survey.

School Report Card 2020 – Post Launch

The 2019-2020 School Report Card (SRC) is now public and staff at the Kentucky Department of Education would like to thank all those individuals in schools and districts that helped to make it a successful launch. Final reminders were shared with School Report Card contacts last week on requirements for posting and sharing.

Schools and districts are encouraged to use the information within the SRC to engage in local conversations. Please share your success stories for maximizing use of the SRC data. KDE staff would love to highlight best practices statewide.

SRC work continues even after the launch of the 2019-2020 data to add additional functionality and value to the card. In early November, new compare functionality will be available in the assessment area for KScreen and in the transition area for graduation rates. ACT data will be published once that data becomes available.

The intent of the compare functionality is to enhance trend and compare charts to include the ability to see multiple subgroups simultaneously.

KDE also will be planning for the 2020-2021 SRC. SRC users are being encouraged to provide suggestions and feedback at any time through the feedback link at the bottom right of the SRC.

BrightBytes performs user experience testing after the fall release to help to refine the SRC for future years. This testing will run through the end of the year, with feedback collected in different ways for flexibility in participation.

If school or district staff, parents or community members would like to participate, please submit names and contact information to KDE Data Services. This is a great opportunity to get Parent Teacher Associations, school-based decision making councils and local school boards involved and to gain more knowledge of the SRC.

School District Boundary Review Due by Nov. 9

The School District Review Program (SDRP) is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics. The school district information obtained through this program, along with decennial census population data, survey data, current population estimates, federal tax information and tabulations of administrative records data, are used in forming the Census Bureau’s estimates of the number of children ages 5 through 17 in families in poverty in each school district. These estimates are the basis of the Title I allocation for each school district.

The SDRP enables the Kentucky Department of Education to review the Census Bureau’s school district information and report any updates or corrections to districts’ Federal School District Local Education Agency (SDLEA) ID numbers, school district boundaries, names, levels or grade ranges. Any updates must reflect school district information as it will exist on Jan. 1, 2021.

Superintendents are encouraged to review their district’s boundaries using the TIGERweb application on the Census Bureau website. There are 11 types of school district changes. If any of the 11 types of changes need to be made for your district, email Margalee Conlee by Nov. 9. Include “SDRP” in the subject line of the email.

KDE seeking nominations for 2021 U.S. Presidential Scholars

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) is seeking nominations for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program. This is not a scholarship; however, all scholars will be honored for their accomplishments during the National Recognition Program, held in June in Washington, D.C.

Presidential Scholars will be guests of the commissioner of the U.S. Department of Education during the National Recognition Program and enjoy an expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to meet with government officials, educators and other accomplished people. To commemorate their achievement, the scholars will be awarded the U.S. Presidential Scholars medallion at a ceremony sponsored by the White House.

Each school may nominate two high school seniors: one male and one female. Educators are encouraged to nominate students who, while demonstrating outstanding scholarship, might not otherwise be nominated through the current ACT/SAT or arts recognition processes. For the arts component, students must participate in the National YoungArts program.

In addition to the general nominations, KDE is asking each school to nominate additional students to be included as candidates for excellence in career and technical education.

It may be helpful to consider the following questions:

• What about the student makes him or her stand out as having outstanding scholarship?
• What special challenges or hurdles has this student overcome while still achieving success in academics, technical education or in the arts?

Students who apply should complete the first page of the application form. The form must be downloaded before it can be completed. The second page must be completed by a counselor or teacher who is most familiar with the student. Email the completed applications for the male and female candidate from your school to Kathie Anderson by Oct. 30.

KDE will select 25 students for the 2021 application and submit these to the national selection committee, which will determine the Presidential Scholar winners.

Those receiving this at KSB and KSD, please make sure all employees receive it. Also, ATC principals are asked to forward it to their staffs.

Please send your questions, comments and suggestions on Monday Message to Jennifer Ginn by 10 a.m. Friday to be published in the upcoming week.