People are Talking

June 2015

  

 

"The kids are enthralled with things that are local. Some of them live near W Hollow (home of late author Jesse Stuart), and it brings it home to them that they are capable of doing great things. It gives them hope and the realization that they can use their education.” Argillite Elementary School (Greenup County) third-grade teacher Allison Collins on how her students have taken to Stuart’s book Old Ben, donated by the local farm bureau for every third-grader in the district. From the Ashland The Independent. Photo provided by Greenup County Schools

“We’ve never compared apples to apples. We’ve never been about comparing ourselves. We’ve never had a test that compares us to kids in Denmark or Finland. Tests exist, but America has never done well on those because we choose to focus on understanding and applying concepts. But parents from China and Singapore still send their kids to the U.S. to be educated.” Frankfort Independent Schools Superintendent Rich Crowe on the common core standards and their use in schools in Kentucky and many other states. From the Frankfort State Journal.

 

 

 

“Our approach here...is not are you going to college, but where are you going to college.” Paintsville Independent Schools Superintendent Coy Samons on the 100 percent college acceptance level for his high school graduating class for the second year in a row. From the Lexington Herald-Leader.

“I would rather see funds go back to the teachers instead of the administration. It is important to have some teachers so classes can be smaller and easier to manage.” Pendleton County Board of Education member Shawn Nordheim on her support for an approved motion to maintain staffing levels at three schools rather than to make cuts recommended by the superintendent. From the Falmouth Outlook.

“I would expect that nearly all of the students in the (new) Innovation Academy will eventually be involved in dual credit. Some students may not be eligible until they are juniors. They’ll be able to do this at little or no cost. That’s a real financial incentive and a huge savings. The cost of higher education has gone up 500 percent in the last 20 years.” Owensboro Independent Schools Superintendent Nick Brake on a dual-credit partnership with the local community and technical college for the district’s planned Innovation Academy. From the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer.

 

“These are very important. Setting these criteria is the first message you are sending to the public and to potential candidates.” Gene Wilhoit, former commissioner of education, now director of the University of Kentucky’s National Center for Innovation in Education, as he facilitated the Kentucky Board of Education’s development of a list of characteristics for the next education commissioner. From the Frankfort KSBA eNews Service.

 

“They see the starting pay and that pretty much ends the conversation.” Adair County Schools Superintendent Alan Reed on his board’s approval of an increase to the district’s classified salary schedule to make its pay scales more competitive with neighboring school systems. From the Columbia Adair Progress.

 

“This should be a big help to our families with young children who would have to pay for child care.” Gallatin County Schools Superintendent Travis Huber on his board’s extension of preschool eligibility for all 4-year-olds enrolled in the district. From the Warsaw Gallatin County News.

 

“The other thing that we have to remember is… those guidelines are in place for any group that wants to do the same thing. We have to recognize that if we allow one group then if there’s another group that approaches… we have to be welcome and respectful of all. (The guideline is not) focused on Gideons.” Butler County Board of Education member Amy Hood on a citizen’s request that the district resume allowing distribution of Gideon Bibles to students. From the Morgantown Beech Tree News.

“The absences have created a frustrating situation. We’ve discussed it at length a couple of times (but) are essentially operating as a four-person board. In other words, if another board member misses, we would have a quorum, but if we vote on a motion and two vote yes and the third votes no, that motion can’t pass because we have to have three votes of approval. As a board, we sat down with our attorney, and we realize there’s not much we can do at this point but focus on the future. As a board, we’re not responsible for policing our own members.” Clark County Board of Education Chairman Michael Kuduk on how his board is dealing with another member’s frequent absences from meetings. From the Winchester Sun.

 

 

“We wanted to talk to them about what it would look like to engage them in conversation about our readiness and actually doing an assessment for us to become an early-college high school. In that conversation, it could take multiple iterations of what that might look like, but in our case, we wanted to assess readiness for our ability to do such a thing.” Holmes High School (Covington Independent) Principal Scott Hornblower addressing parents’ concerns about possible changes in college and career readiness course options at his school. From the Covington River City News.

 

“They had very legitimate arguments and one of the strongest I thought I heard here tonight was, ‘Would you sit in a football or basketball game and listen to that language without taking some action?’ and the answer is pretty much no. That’s all I’m going to say, but I am going to abstain from the vote.” Washington County Board of Education member Pat Clements on his abstention from voting on an appeal of the high school SBDM council’s decision to keep the book Girl, Interrupted in the school library. From the Springfield Sun.

 

“You’re concerned citizens and you care about education. That’s the fuel of the community.” Brigitte Blom Ramsey, executive director-designate of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, in Cadiz during the first stop of the organization’s statewide listening tour on K-12 issues. From the Hopkinsville Kentucky New Era.

 

“Teachers show them really fun and simple ways of interacting with their children at home, in the grocery store, in the car going down the road. It’s pretty cool the things they tell the parents.” Vicki Yonts, manager of the Muhlenberg County Schools’ kindergarten readiness program, which helps train parents and caregivers on the skills needed for a successful start to school. From the Evansville, Ind., WFIE-TV News.

“That was terrible. Why? I don’t see why anyone would want to be like that. I couldn’t see straight. I knew it before, but now I’m sure I won’t drink and drive.” Pikeville Independent High School Senior Caleb Skeens after attempting to drive a golf cart through an obstacle course wearing special goggles designed to mimic alcohol-impacted driving. From the Pikeville Appalachian News-Express.

 

“Not everybody gets to say that ‘I look forward to going to the office.’ I got to do things I liked to do, and I got a paycheck for it. Now, how cool is that?” Somerset Independent Schools Superintendent Boyd Randolph reflecting on his time leading district as he announced his plans to retire in June. From the Somerset Commonwealth-Journal.

 

“I have 41 years of experience with the district. I’m not one of those people who gets my time in and gets excited about retirement. I’m not excited, but I think it is time to go. It’s not going to get better and it’s not going to get worse, so I should just go.” Lewis County Schools Superintendent Maurice Reeder on his retirement plans for the end of July. From the Maysville Ledger-Independent.