Kerry Young’s official involvement in public education began with eight years of service on the school council at Richardsville Elementary in Warren County. He won a seat on the district’s school board in 2007 and is board chairman, also chairing its audit committee. Young was elected to represent the Third Region on KSBA’s board of directors, replacing Davonna Page of Russellville Independent.
Young is a service provider for UPS, where he has worked for 32 years. He has held leadership positions in Pee Wee Baseball and is a deacon in his church, also directing its church camp for fourth through 12th graders. Young attended Western Kentucky University.
Take the LEAD
Members should watch their mail and the KSBA website in the coming days for the date of KSBA’s annual Legislative Education Advocacy Day at the Capitol. Even though this is a non-budget session, it will be packed with critical issues affecting public education.
School p.r. honors
A youth development group, a Rotary Club and a veteran of school public relations were singled out as the Kentucky School Public Relations Association presented its three major awards during its annual conference Nov. 10–11.
The Richard Thornton Award for leadership and dedication to public education was given to The First Tee, a nonprofit youth development organization that introduces children to golf while also teaching them life skills, values and discipline. The First Tee has chapters serving students in the Bell, Knox, Harlan, Jefferson and Wayne county school districts, among others.
The Rotary Club of Henderson received the association’s Flag of Liberty and Learning as a group outside of education that makes a significant contribution to public education. The club has served the students of Henderson County for more than 75 years. Its projects include scholarship funds, a field day, dictionary and book donations, and coats for kids.
The O.V. Jones Memorial Award for outstanding service to KYSPRA and school public relations was presented to Corbin Independent Entrepreneurial & Outreach Programs Coordinator Susie Hart, who, as part of her job, is director of the Corbin Center, the district-operated, city-owned community building. Hart was recognized for the multiple tasks she undertakes at KYSPRA’s conferences and her work on its website.
Innovation inclusion
The Lee County school district is among 19 school systems newly accepted into the League of Innovative Schools, a national coalition of school districts organized by Digital Promise, a nonprofit created by Congress to accelerate innovation in education.
Lee County Schools was selected based on its leadership, evidence of results, innovative vision for learning and commitment to collaboration, according to Digital Promise. Superintendent Dr. Jim Evans said the designation affirms the district’s “vision and commitment to enhance student learning through innovation and technology, and provide every student access to personalized learning anytime, anywhere to meet specific student needs and create independent, confident learners who are globally competitive.”
STARdom
Kentucky has moved ahead of both Indiana and North Carolina to achieve fifth-place nationally in number of ENERGY STAR Labeled K-12 schools. The latest standings from energystar.gov reflect Kentucky’s latest total of 366 – that’s nearly one-third of the state’s public schools. The top four states are California (1,681), Texas (787), Virginia (437) and Michigan (422), all of which have significantly larger school populations than Kentucky.