Kentucky Department of Education

 

As part of our effort to streamline communications and cut down on the number of e-mails you receive, this Monday E-Mail combines several items into one communication.

 

Please read the Monday E-mail as it contains information about the following KDE related items:

 

Be sure to read the item titled Information from Secretary Arne Duncan - Resources for Schools to Prepare for and Recover from Crisis located as the first item under Items from Outside Agencies. 

 

If you have questions about the specific items, please see the contact information for each item.

 

In response to requests from schools and districts, two new documents have been posted to the KDE Program Reviews webpage:

• A Word document, with three expanding text boxes (Evidence, Rationale and Next Steps) that can be used as a working document prior to entering information into ASSIST.
• A reconciliation document will help schools connect data from the 2011-12 diagnostic tool to the 2012-13 diagnostic tool. It shows the current demonstrators and characteristics in relationship to the 2011-12 demonstrators and characteristics.

 

These documents should prove helpful to schools with completing Program Reviews.

 

 

The ARRA Jobs Estimate report is available through the web application at http://apps.kde.state.ky.us/login/.  The December 2009 OMB ARRA Jobs Guidance from the federal government and the ARRA Jobs Web Application instructions are also attached.  The report is a requirement of receipt of ARRA funds.  

Each district must complete a report for jobs created/retained relative to each ARRA grant received from KDE.  Each district will be reporting for the quarter of October 2012-December 2012.  The formula for calculating jobs created/retained is:

 

Total number of quarter hours worked in jobs funded with ARRA funds = Number of FTEs for 
                        Total quarter hours in a full-time schedule                 quarter

 

You are still required to report on the School Improvement (g) (5600) grant.  MUNIS project numbers 5600A, 5600B and 5600C must be reported under MUNIS project number 5600.  All reports must have a sign-off.  If your district did not receive this grant, please sign-off on the blank report.  
 
Also, if the district has made a single purchase of $25,000 or more, please complete the 1512 Vendor Reporting spreadsheet (attached) and email to arrajobs@education.ky.gov by the reporting deadline.  
 
The report must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. (EST) on Monday, January 13, 2013.  Any reports not completed by this time will result in withholding of ARRA funds until the report has been submitted.     
 
Questions may be directed to the following:

• Web application: ketsservicedesk@education.ky.gov or 502-564-2002

• ARRA jobs reporting: arrajobs@education.ky.gov or Thelma Hawkins at 502-564-1979 
 
Future ARRA Job Estimates reporting due dates are:
January 2013-March 2013 - Due: April 5, 2013
April 2013-June 2013 - Due: July 5, 2013
July 2013-September 2013 - Due: October 7, 2013
October 2013-December 2013 - Due: January 6, 2014
                        
Note:  Dates are subject to change based on information from the U.S. Department of Education.

Update on science standards

 

Achieve has announced that the second and final public draft of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) will be released next month, the first week in January. Achieve encourages all interested parties to review the draft when it is released and provide feedback. The NGSS will be completed in March 2013. To read the announcement, go to www.nextgenscience.org.

       

Kentucky Teacher

Kentucky Teacher, the Kentucky Department of Education’s award-winning online publication, is the place to go to stay abreast of what is happening in Kentucky’s public schools.

 

Here’s a look at what’s coming in Kentucky Teacher the week of Dec. 17:

 

• Closing achievements gaps is one of the goals of the state’s Unbridled Learning accountability system. Read about how setting high expectations for all students has helped two Kentucky schools make major strides in closing gaps between various groups of students in their schools.
• NBA star. Game show host. Teacher. Luckily for his students at Mary Lee Cravens Elementary School, educator Ryan Williams ended up in the classroom, where he uses real-world scenarios and students’ interests to drive instruction and learning. His efforts have earned him the 2012 Milken Family Foundation Education Award.
• Recently, KDE photographer Amy Wallot met her goal of visiting every Kentucky school district in the state and has more photos to share from her adventures. See if your school or district featured in this week’s Photo Blog.

 

Make sure you don’t miss anything in Kentucky Teacher by signing up to receive e-mail updates whenever new stories or features are added (usually 1-2 times a week). Rest assured, we won’t share your e-mail address.

 

We want to hear from you too, so send your comments, feedback or story suggestions to us at kyteacher@education.ky.gov or post your comments online.

 

Kentucky Teacher is produced by KDE’s Division of Communications.

 

 

 

 

Dear Colleague,

 

All of us who work in education have broken hearts and are haunted by the tragedy visited on the educators, students, and families of the Newtown Public School District and Sandy Hook Elementary School. Whenever a school experiences violence and the lives of children and adults are lost, we struggle to find words to express our emotions and explain how this could have happened.

 

Schools are among the safest places for children and adolescents in our country, and, in fact, crime in schools has been trending downward for more than a decade. Nationwide statistics, however, provide little solace when 20 first-graders and six adults are senselessly gunned down in a small town’s elementary school. Accounts from Sandy Hook indicate that the school’s heroic principal and her staff had safety measures in place and had practiced their emergency procedures. As a result, children’s lives were saved and an even greater tragedy was averted.

 

Not all tragedies can be prevented. But schools and districts need to be ready to handle crises, large and small, to keep our children and staff out of harm’s way and ready to learn and teach, and to recover from such tragedies should they occur. As we reflect on what happened last week in Connecticut, I want to share some resources from the U.S. Department of Education’s Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools Technical Assistance Center that may be helpful to you and your team, now and in the future.

 

As hard as it is to talk among adults about such a tragedy, it can be even more difficult to talk with students and our own children. Helping Youth and Children Recover from Traumatic Events is a compilation of resources from the Department of Education, other federal agencies, and counseling experts. It is so important to give children the chance to talk, write, or draw to express their emotions. Please create the time and space for them to do that.

 

The Department also has several resources on Creating and Updating School Emergency Management Plans. If you do not have a crisis plan in place, please take steps to develop one.  Engage a variety of school personnel and community partners. Plans should be comprehensive, anticipate a variety of hazards, and focus on the four phases of emergency management: prevention-mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.

 

If you do have an emergency plan in place, please review it, update it as necessary, and practice that plan regularly. Knowing what to do when faced with a crisis can be the difference between calm and chaos.

 

The Department of Education’s first priority is to help the Newtown community cope in the aftermath of this horrific event. In the days and weeks ahead, we will work with state and local officials, as well as Congress, to do everything in our power to help Newtown begin the long process of recovery.

 

As President Obama said, our country has suffered through mass shootings and gun deaths of young people too many times, in too many places. As a nation, we must find the courage and the conviction to take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies – now.

 

As you take steps to prevent and prepare for possible emergencies in your community, you have my full support and deepest gratitude for taking on this difficult yet necessary work. Thank you for the difference that you make in the lives of our country’s children. If you have questions or need additional assistance, please contact Paul Kesner at paul.kesner@ed.gov or (202) 245-7889.

 

Sincerely,

 

Arne Duncan

 

 

Applications are now open for the first Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs (GSE) in summer 2013.

The three-week residential program for high school students places a strong emphasis on innovation and design as elements of creating a sustainable business model. GSE will teach students critical life and work skills of problem-solving, teamwork, iteration and social responsibility.

 

For more information or to apply, go to http://gse.kstc.com. The application deadline is February 15, 2013.

 

In January, Kentucky will observe School Board Recognition Month. The Kentucky School Boards Association (KSBA) has created a set of materials for communicating about the recognition of your board of education members’ community service. These include:

• a sample news release
• a sample resolution
• a sample letter to the editor
• a certificate of recognition from KSBA

 

All of these materials are in Word format for easy use and/or modification. They may be accessed on the KSBA website: http://www.ksba.org/2013SchoolBoardRecognitionMonth.aspx. Please feel free to use and/or modify these documents in any way that you see fit.

 

For additional assistance, please contact Brad Hughes, KSBA Member Support Services, Brad.Hughes@ksba.org or (800) 372-2962.

 

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2013 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) -- the nation's highest honors for K-12 mathematics and science teachers.

 

The awards alternate annually between K-6 teachers and those in grades 7-12. The 2013 awards honor 7-12 mathematics and science teachers. Please consider nominating yourself or another outstanding math or science teacher at http://www.paemst.org.

 

The nomination deadline is April 1, 2013.

 

The Kentucky Historical Society, in partnership with a number of historic sites in the state, is offering two week-long workshops on the civil war. The "Torn Within, Threatened Without: Kentucky and the Border States in the Civil War" Landmarks of American History and Culture grant workshops will be held from June 23-29, 2013, and July 14-20, 2013, at the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History in Frankfort, Kentucky. Up to 40 K-12 teachers may attend each workshop.

 

Additional program information on workshop themes, scholars, sites, schedule, stipends and application materials is available at http://history.ky.gov/landmark/ or email: tim.talbott@ky.gov.

 

The Kentucky Clean Fuels Coalition (KCFC) and the National Energy Education Development (NEED) Project have partnered to provide two area teacher workshops. Thanks to the sponsorship of KCFC, there is no cost to attend the workshop. Breakfast, lunch and substitute reimbursement are included.

 

Participation in this workshop provides educators with a free NEED Science of Energy Kit designed to teach the concepts of force, motion, light, sound, heat, electricity, magnetism and energy transformations through hands-on activities.

 

The workshop will be held at two locations:

• Feb. 21, 2013 -- Bernheim Arboretum & Research Forest, Clermont
• March 7, 2013 -- Hilton Cincinnati Airport, Florence

Register online by February 15, 2013:
• Feb. 21, 2013 Workshop: http://www.regonline.com/needkcfcclermont%20
• Mar. 7, 2013 Workshop: http://www.regonline.com/needkcfcflorence%20

Recently, WFPL-FM reported on a hotline operated by the Jefferson County school district and designed to provide parents and families with information about state test results. This activity may inspire you as you work to communicate with your students’ families.

See the story at http://wfpl.org/post/jcps-sets-hotline-answer-questions-new-test-results.