May 2016
Kentucky schools now have a different genre of learning during inclement weather days: traditional non-traditional instruction days. That’s because some school districts have begun new ways of approaching these days that are truly non-traditional.
Clinton County Schools and Harlan Independent Schools were among the districts trying out non-traditional instruction days for the first time this winter, to good reviews.
Against the oddsOwsley County Schools leaders had seemingly insurmountable barriers to improving student achievement – poverty, isolation, educational culture – but with the help of technology and a “no quit” attitude, they reduced those barriers, netting them a PEAK Award.
Go fish!This is no fish story. Bass fishing is filling the gap for some students who aren’t a good match for other competitive sports. Despite obstacles like transportation to lakes and scrounging up enough boats, the sport is growing in Kentucky high schools.
Bass fishing is not the only newer sport activity sanctioned by the Kentucky High School Athletic Association: archery and bowling also are booming, and competitive cheer is a perennial favorite.
Fighting fraudPopular new KSBA finance training for school board members focuses on understanding fraud and what they can do to reduce the opportunities for fraud in their district. One rule of thumb: “Trust is not an internal control.”
Down to the wireThe 2016 legislative session was a nail-biter to the end, but K-12 education did not come out too badly. Get the run-down on what passed and the high-profile proposals that did not.
Bonus online content: Education bills that did not pass
Kentuckians were active throughout the three-day 2016 National School Boards Association conference in Boston last month. Check out some of the scenes in this Advocate photo gallery.
KDE listening tour gathers ideas on accountability changes
Education Commissioner Stephen Pruitt and staff of the Kentucky Department of Education recently completed an 11-city town hall tour to solicit public opinions on how to define school success in preparation for creating a new statewide accountability system for Kentucky schools. KSBA was represented at all of the forums, including this one in Hazard hosted by the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative.