As college students and academics return to the classroom within the coming weeks, the Kentucky Division of Schooling (KDE) supplied superintendents with a number of sources to organize faculties for the brand new faculty yr.
Through the Aug. 9 superintendents webcast, KDE Deputy Commissioner and Chief Fairness Officer Thomas Woods-Tucker advised superintendents a few skilled improvement alternative to discover ways to implement KDE’s fairness playbook into their school rooms.
Woods-Tucker mentioned every faculty that plans to make use of the fairness playbook of their skilled improvement will obtain personalised teaching.
“We all know that when teaching is finished appropriately, when it’s applied appropriately, it helps to extend instructor efficacy … and it raises pupil achievement,” mentioned Woods-Tucker.
Throughout this skilled studying alternative, contributors will determine an issue or observe associated to one of many 5 fairness pillars, together with pupil achievement; disproportionality relative to pupil self-discipline; extremely efficient employees and high-quality tutorial sources; utilization of funding and sources; and tradition and local weather.
The skilled improvement can be delivered both in particular person on the collaborating faculty or on-line, and there can be three entry factors to work with the fairness playbook: fall 2022, spring 2023 or fall 2023.
KDE Chief Tutorial Officer Micki Ray additionally joined the webcast to let superintendents learn about three key sources related to literacy which were revealed by KDE’s Workplace of Educating and Studying (OTL).
Per Senate Invoice 9, KDE was charged with compiling an inventory of authorised common literacy screeners and diagnostics. On KDE’s Early Literacy Screening Assessments webpage, OTL has listed KDE’s choice standards, an “at-a-glance” comparability chart and one-pagers on what measures KDE makes use of to find out what’s legitimate and dependable in a literacy screener.
Christie Biggerstaff, OTL’s director of early literacy, introduced that roughly 2,020 educators signed up for the Kentucky Studying Academies, a brand new initiative that brings the Language Necessities for Academics of Studying and Spelling (LETRS) skilled studying to educators throughout the commonwealth. LETRS coaching teaches the how, what and why of literacy acquisition to educators to enhance literacy instruction and positively affect long-term pupil success.
A dwell, digital welcome celebration and LETRS kickoff can be held on Aug. 23 at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Ray additionally mentioned a Studying and Writing Instruction Useful resource Shopper Information has been created to help districts and faculties within the analysis and choice of high-quality studying and writing tutorial sources aligned to the Kentucky Tutorial Requirements for Studying and Writing. The patron information is on the market on the Excessive-High quality Tutorial Assets webpage.
United We Be taught toolkit
Schooling Commissioner and Chief Learner Jason E. Glass reminded superintendents in regards to the newly launched toolkit for United We Learn.
The toolkit can be utilized to facilitate deeper discussions with stakeholders all through the superintendents’ faculty districts and communities to debate how the United We Be taught imaginative and prescient can assist a greater future for schooling.
The United We Be taught imaginative and prescient builds round three massive concepts: making a extra vibrant expertise for each pupil, encouraging innovation in our faculties and making a daring new future for Kentucky’s faculties via collaboration with our communities.
For instance of how superintendents can begin conversations of their districts round United We Be taught, Glass tasked the group to think about they’re presenting at their back-to-school occasion with households and provides an instance of how their faculty is constructing the primary massive concept: a “vibrant pupil expertise.”
Sheri Satterly, superintendent at Frankfort Impartial Faculties, mentioned at Second Road Faculty (Frankfort Impartial), they’re revitalizing their faculty grounds and cafeterias although a Farm-to-Faculty Grant that’s facilitated via their gardening membership.
Spencer County Superintendent Chuck Abell mentioned college students in his district take part in “genius hour” actions, the place they get the chance to analysis topics that curiosity them, then put together and current their subjects as an indication of what they’ve realized.
Glass inspired superintendents to make use of the concepts that have been shared as inspiration for what could be achieved in their very own districts.
“One of many issues that I’ve repeatedly tried to emphasize right here in Kentucky is that there’s … capability on this place that’s been happening for quite a few years,” mentioned Glass. “We’ve reached the tipping level the place I believe it’s simply able to explode with life and flourish within the state.”
In different enterprise, superintendents:
