“By offering these workshops before the children even enter school, the students avoid having to play catch-up right from the start and have a much greater chance of success throughout their school years.” Floyd County Schools Superintendent Henry Webb on the board of education’s decision to provide special preschool parent training classes at all of the district’s elementary schools, in addition to the one that received a Toyota “bornlearning Academy” grant. From the Prestonsburg Floyd County Times.
“I learned to definitely listen to and trust my principal and teachers – you can’t always trust social media.” Warren East High School Senior Hannah Conner on the impact of social media postings about an allegedly threatening message scrawled on a bathroom wall that led to 500 of 900 students staying home from school. From the Bowling Green Daily News.
“NCLB has a provision requiring districts to notify parents when students wind up in classrooms without highly qualified teachers. This can happen when a teacher simply isn’t highly qualified or when a long-term substitute steps into a vacancy. Sub teachers cannot possibly be qualified to deliver instruction at the same level as the regular classroom teacher who is specialized in a particular field. For example, most substitute teachers would be unqualified to deliver instruction for a high-level math course. In the event that a long-term sub is needed, we make every attempt to match skills and certification for that classroom, but that’s not always possible.” Clay County Schools Superintendent Reecia Samples on the nonfinancial costs districts face due to frequent teacher absenteeism. From the Manchester Enterprise.
“They’ve done more with less. These types of decisions come with a lot of pain.” Caldwell County Schools Superintendent Carrell Boyd in complimenting principals and other staff for handling personnel reductions as part of reducing the district’s payroll by $288,000 in recent years. From the Princeton Times-Leader.
“The ACT plays a much larger role in the state assessment. Now we know where the students stand. (The mock ACT) is going to enable us to better prepare our kids for the ACT. It will not only help us prepare the group, but prepare (students) individually.” Pineville Independent High School Principal Bill Keyes on how his school created a mock ACT test, right down to sample questions in a timed format in the same room where students will take the exam next spring. From the Middlesboro Daily News.
“The driver can’t cut seat belts for 50 or 60 kids if the bus is aflame or there’s fuel leaking after a wreck. You want to get them off.” Kentucky Department of Education Pupil Transportation Supervisor Roy Prince on one reason why many experts don’t favor requiring safety belts for students on all school buses. From the Louisville WHAS TV News.
“Occasionally, some folks would stick their heels in on the policy. The student is still responsible to learn the material. This gives them credit for their work. We expect that student to learn and do the work to learn. And when they do the work, they get whatever they earn. If a student chooses not to do the work they’re going to get a zero.” Nelson County Schools Superintendent Anthony Orr explaining a board policy change that set a standard for students with excused absences to earn credit for late work. From the Bardstown Kentucky Standard.
“The Health Department is planning considerable cuts to our nurse program. If we had to pick up total cost, which right now we split that bill, we’re looking at $164,000 or more.” Adair County Schools Superintendent Alan Reed on the potential impact a state Medicaid funding problem could have for his district. From the Columbia Adair Progress.
“For years, people thought math and computation were synonyms. In fact, for years, math instruction meant learning only how to add, subtract, multiply and divide. It meant working with whole numbers, integers, fractions and percentages. It meant meaningless memorization of math ‘tricks’ instead of the mathematical relationships. Although the acquisition of basic math facts and computation is still important, it is less important than it once was because of the development of technology. In the past, schools spent years teaching children to do things that technology will do much more accurately in much less time.” Henderson County Schools Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Jo Swanson on why the district has made dramatic changes in its math curriculum. From the Henderson Gleaner.
“I just left it in the hands of the Lord.” McCreary County school board member Debbie Gibson on her return to the post after four years when she won a drawing from a hat after tying incumbent Johnny Barnett in the November election. From the Whitley City McCreary County Record.