Note: Due to the upcoming holidays, this is the last edition of Fast Five on Friday until the week of January 7, 2013. We are sending this edition out early because many schools will be out on holiday break after today. May all of you have a wonderful holiday and a happy new year!
In this edition of Fast Five on Friday, you will find articles on the following:
- PGES Winter Summit Registration Process (Note: A registration form must be completed for each person who will be attending.)
- Operation Preparation Participation and Sign-ups
- OCTE Hosting Regional Workshops Regarding CCR
- Restraint and Seclusion Regulation Moves Forward
- Joseph Kelly Award Nomination Process Opens
- Governor Asks Kentuckians to Observe Moment of Silence on Friday Morning
Fast Five on Friday
(Six this Week)
PGES Winter Summit Registration Process – Registration is now open for the Professional Growth and Effectiveness System (PGES) regional Winter Education Summit. The meeting will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. local time with a break for lunch (on your own). The registration link (
http://cms.education.ky.gov/formserv/?id=Winter_Summit) includes the dates and locations. There is no fee to attend.
Each district should bring a team of four to six people -- for example, one to two teachers, one to two principals, the certified personnel evaluation point of contact and the superintendent -- to one summit meeting.
District teams will learn about the new Professional Growth and Effectiveness System (PGES), next year’s statewide pilot and the development of a readiness and scaling plan for full implementation in the 2013-14 school year.
A registration form must be completed for each person who will be attending.
Operation Preparation Participation and Sign-ups –
Operation Preparation is quickly approaching in March 2013.
Attached is a map of those districts that are participating as of last Friday. If your district has not started planning for Operation Preparation, I hope you will make the decision to be part of this exciting initiative soon. Let us know your intentions by filling out a short survey (
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/OperationPreparation2013). This will ensure that KDE has the correct contact information and can help support your efforts.
Operation Preparation is a community-based advising activity designed to help 8th- and 10th-grade students plan for life after high school. It supports the advising strategy of our college/career-readiness plan. If you have any questions about Operation Preparation, please contact Sharon Johnston at
sharon.johnston@education.ky.gov.
OCTE Hosting Regional Workshops Regarding CCR – The Office of Career and Technical Education (OCTE) will be providing regional workshops for guidance counselors and administrators interested in learning more about career pathway options that lead to college and career readiness. The workshops will focus on career and technical education (CTE) career majors and emphasize best practices for scheduling students. Other topics will include the Individual Learning Plan (ILP), CTE offerings and programs, Kentucky Occupational Skill Standards Assessment (KOSSA), and valid industry certifications available for students in Kentucky.
Below is the link for registration. The registration form includes the dates, locations, and times.
Restraint and Seclusion Regulation Moves Forward – The restraint and seclusion regulation was successfully reviewed by the Administrative Regulation Review Subcommittee (ARRS) this week with no opposition. Support from our education partners at the meeting clearly made the difference, and we are sincerely appreciative of KSBA’s, KASA’s and KASS’s coming together with KDE on the compromise that was reached on the last three substantive issues. Also, we appreciate the many other partners that were supportive and offered input during this regulatory process.
The next step is for the regulation to go before the Interim Joint Education Committee in either January or February. We don’t anticipate any problems at this point in getting it through that committee after the positive comments we heard from legislators at the ARRS meeting.
Joseph Kelly Award Nomination Process Opens – The window for accepting nominations for the annual Joseph W. Kelly Award is now open. This award will be given to a businessperson who has offered outstanding leadership and service toward promoting school improvement and equity of educational opportunity for all Kentucky children. Nominations will be accepted until close of business on January 16, 2013. For more details, go to the following link:
http://education.ky.gov/KBE/Pages/default.aspx.
Governor Asks Kentuckians to Observe Moment of Silence on Friday Morning – In a press release issued today, Governor Beshear has invited Kentuckians to observe a moment of silence this coming Friday morning for the victims of last week’s school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. For the full press release, click on the following link:
http://kentucky.gov/Pages/home.aspx.
If you have questions on any of the articles included in this edition of Fast Five, please contact me at the e-mail address or phone number found below.
Terry Holliday, Ph.D.
Commissioner of Education
Kentucky Department of Education
Office 502-564-3141
Fax 502-564-5680
Twitter @kycommissioner