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Dear Colleagues:
Plans for getting the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine into the arms of Kentucky’s educators and support staff are moving ahead at lightning speed. Over the weekend, you should have received a notification as to who your health care partner is that will be administering the vaccines to your staff.
I know that some of our districts have been able to vaccinate their staff before others due to local conditions resulting in a surplus, but I want to take a moment to put everything into perspective.
About two weeks ago, on Jan. 5, Commissioner Dr. Stephen Stack and his team at the Department for Public Health (DPH) were given more than 250 lists of 82,158 names of public and private K-12 educators and support staff who indicated they wanted to receive the vaccination. The fact that DPH now expects all those K-12 staff who indicated they wanted the vaccine to receive their first dose by Feb. 5 is phenomenal and should be celebrated. It really goes to show the priority our Commonwealth has placed on education and getting our students back into the classroom as quickly as we can.
I want to thank you all for your patience as we and DPH have worked through this process. I have heard some compare what has happened with this pandemic as the greatest mobilization of medical forces since the 1918 flu outbreak. It has taken a great amount of effort and will to get to this point. Please bear with us as we are coming so close to the finish line.
I also wanted to touch base briefly on the historic events taking place in Washington tomorrow as the country’s 46th president is inaugurated. Our students are living through a momentous time in our nation’s life. In our politically charged atmosphere, I know these can be difficult topics to discuss, but they are the type of things that can get our students to make real connections to social studies and civics content, as I wrote in this Kentucky Teacher column.
And remember to point your teachers to our Kentucky Academic Standards webpage. The Kentucky Department of Education staff have been hard at work providing new resources and learning modules to help your teachers digest the standards in all areas and think through ways to help their students achieve at high levels. You can find social studies resources – including guides to help family members understand what is in the standards – on the Social Studies Resources webpage.
Kind regards,
Jason E. Glass, Ed.D.
Commissioner & Chief Learner
Additional Information Regarding ESSER II and GEER II Fund Allocations to Local School Districts
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) is providing additional information to clarify the allocation methodologies for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER II) Fund and the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER II) Fund under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSA).
Per the CRRSA, ESSER II subgrants to local school districts are required to be allocated in proportion to a district’s Title I, Part A, funds received in the most recent fiscal year. The ESSER II Subgrants document is page 1,875 of the PDF document. The amount of ESSER II subgrants to Kentucky school districts is approximately $835 million. District ESSER II allocations may be found in this Excel sheet: CARES Act Allocations 011221.
The GEER II funds are allocated to the governor and include a reservation for nonpublic schools and an allocation for school districts or institutions of higher education deemed most significantly impacted by the coronavirus, or other education entity deemed essential for providing educational services. The GEER II Uses of Funds is pages 1,862-1,863 of the PDF document.
For Kentucky, the GEER II reservation for nonpublic schools is approximately $41 million. The allocation for public school districts, institutions of higher education or other essential educational entities is $19.5 million. KDE will provide additional information regarding disbursement of GEER II funds to school districts as soon as it is released.
New Kentucky LEADS Academy Aims to Improve Special Education
A new academy at three Kentucky public universities aims to recruit and retain holders of Advanced Educational Leader - Director of Special Education certification to increase the state’s capacity to provide services for children with disabilities.
Funded by a $1 million federal grant, the Kentucky LEADS Academy is a five-year effort to increase the number and capacity of certified directors of special education, special education teachers, admission and release committee chairs and early intervention service leaders.
Eligible candidates must be:
- Enrolled in Morehead State University, Western Kentucky University or Murray State University;
- Pursuing a Director of Special Education or Early Childhood Coordinator certification; and/or
- Enrolled in these programs within six months of being accepted into the academy.
Apply online for the Kentucky LEADS inaugural cohort. Applications are due by Jan. 22.
For more information, email Project Coordinator Peter Hoechner or Policy Adviser Thomas Williams.
USED Releases Fact Sheet on the Use of School Lunch Data for Title I, Part A of ESSA
The U.S. Department of Education (USED) released a fact sheet regarding waivers granted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for school meal programs and their impacts on certain state-administered programs under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
Pages 4-6 provide details about how districts may use school lunch and other poverty data in the administration of Title I, Part A. Please note: The fact sheet does not offer additional waivers or flexibility, but explains the flexibilities already available in ESSA.
For more information, email your KDE Title I, Part A consultant.
What Works Kentucky Program Seeks Peer Reviewers
What Works Kentucky (WWKY) is a yearlong training program for school and district leaders looking to improve their research and data analysis skills. Participants in the program complete 30 hours of professional learning culminating in a peer-reviewed research project.
The WWKY team is seeking applicants for the peer reviewer pool. Volunteer peer reviewers support WWKY participants in the completion of quality projects. All projects must pass a double-blind peer review process by three reviewers before being published on the Kentucky Department of Education’s website.
Peer reviewers must complete an online training module before being assigned papers to review. Reviewers are expected to commit to two papers, which must be reviewed within 10 business days after being assigned. Reviewers should expect to review papers multiple times and provide detailed feedback to improve the quality of the paper to prepare it for publication.
Qualified peer reviewers will hold a terminal degree (Ph.D., Ed.D.) in education or a related field and should be either practicing school or district staff or university faculty in Kentucky. To become a peer reviewer, complete the WWKY Peer Reviewer Application. For more information, email Matthew Courtney.
Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act Annual Report
The CARES Act Annual Report for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) and the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER) are available in the Grants Management Application and Planning System (GMAP). The deadline to submit the annual report is Jan. 22.
The GMAP role of “District CARES Act Director” has access to complete the annual reports.
The CARES Act Annual Report is located under “Funding/Application Supplements/Fiscal Year 2020.”
Please complete the following steps:
- Click “ESSER Annual Report”
- Click “Change Status To: ESSER Report Started”
- Complete all the sections
- Click “Save” and Go To “Sections”
- Click “ESSER Report Completed”
- Click “Save” and go to “GEER Annual Report”
- Complete all the sections
- Click “Save” and go to “Sections”
- Click “GEER Report Completed”
- If your district received ESSER Reserve Grants – 613 FT, 613FD, this section must be completed.
The CARES Act Annual Report is a requirement by the U.S. Department of Education for receipt of funds under ESSER and GEER.
If you have questions, email KDE GMAP Help.
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