The search is on. In late March, the Kentucky Department of Education finalized a contract with the Greenwood/Asher search firm to help lock in a new education commissioner. Kentucky’s previous education chief, Wayne Lewis, was ousted in December by Gov. Beshear’s new-look Kentucky Board of Education. Interim Commissioner Kevin Brown has overseen the Kentucky Department of Education in the meantime.…
Tag: Wayne Lewis
Tell Kentucky’s new commissioner to make teacher recruitment a priority
After ousting former commissioner Wayne Lewis, Kentucky’s new-look Board of Education (KBE) is now in the middle of a national search for a new state education chief. And they need your help. Kentucky residents, teachers, and other stakeholders are invited to take this survey to provide direct feedback to the KBE on the qualities they want to see in our…
Go Teach KY aims to recruit new teachers to the Bluegrass—here’s how it will (and won’t) succeed
Back in the fall, the Kentucky Department of Education officially announced the launch of Go Teach KY, an initiative aiming to recruit new teachers to the Bluegrass. In tandem, KDE also announced plans for a new loan forgiveness program called the Kentucky Academy for Equity in Teaching (KAET) in hopes of diversifying Kentucky’s teaching force. “Ensuring that Kentucky students have…
Kentucky’s accountability system looks set to change again
Trying to keep up with all of the changes to a state’s accountability system is a little like drinking from a waterfall. Thanks to this new bombshell from the Courier-Journal, it appears that Kentucky’s accountability system is looking more and more like Niagara Falls every day. The debacle du jour deals with Kentucky’s identifying labels for schools. If you aren’t…
The good, the bad, and the ugly of Kentucky’s new five-star school rating system
Kentucky’s new school rating system is is set to roll out next month, the Kentucky Department of Education reports. That means that starting in September, you can head on over to the webpage to see exactly how your local school measures up out of five stars. I’ve discussed before how the new five-star rating system presents some clear advantages, but…
Solving Kentucky’s teacher shortage crisis begins and ends with the money
There is no getting around it. Any real solution to Kentucky’s growing teacher shortage must involve higher salaries. It has to. That’s my take on the latest debate to strike Twitter feeds across the Bluegrass. With nearly 5,000 teaching positions still unfilled on this final week of July, Commissioner Lewis and Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) officials have become increasingly…
Kentucky’s Proposed Graduation Requirements Strike The Right Balance
If you’ve ever wondered why conversations about improving schools often resort to people talking past each other, there’s a reason: Public K-12 education means different things to different people. On one end, there’s the “college-for-all” mentality, the philosophy of those who argue that the aim of public K-12 education should be to prepare all students for success at a college…
Wayne Lewis: “Daunting Moment of Truth” For Kentucky Schools
K-PREP scores were released to the public today, and teachers, administrators, and parents across the state are combing through the data to see how their local schools and districts performed. One thing we’ve learned so far is that achievement gaps are still persistent and that overall scores are still flat. So how well is Kentucky taking that? So far, reactions have been…
Kentucky Drops Master’s Degree Requirement
Earlier today, a waiver that removes Master’s degree requirements from Kentucky teachers was approved by the Education Professional Standards Board (EPSB). This is the first major action of the newly-consolidated EPSB, which was formerly an independent board. Per Interim Commissioner of Education Wayne Lewis’ recommendation earlier this month, the EPSB was placed under the oversight of the Kentucky Department of…
#KYEdUpdate: Hal Heiner, JCPS Takeover, and EPSB Overhaul
While teachers and students across the Commonwealth are holding on tight to their final days of summer, the action in Frankfort and beyond just keeps coming. The Kentucky Board of Education has a new chairman, but he’s no first-timer in Frankfort. Interim Education Commissioner Wayne Lewis has a deal for Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS), one of the largest districts in the…
Kentucky’s ESSA Plan Was Just Approved. Here’s What That Means.
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has just approved Kentucky’s new education plan under Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). For Kentucky schools, that means new changes in accountability, school ratings, and student success are coming. Kentucky’s Interim Commissioner of Education Wayne Lewis was optimistic about what the new plan means for Kentucky students. In a statement released May 7, Lewis said,…
Citing Low Performance and Student Abuse, Interim Commissioner Lewis Calls For JCPS Takeover
Jefferson County Public Schools is facing a takeover. Referencing the low performance of several Louisville schools as well as abuses in student discipline, Interim Commissioner of Education Dr. Wayne Lewis stated on Monday that he will attempt to give control over the JCPS district to the state. JCPS is one of the nation’s largest school districts, and the largest in…