15 December Advocate

Threatdown
This fall’s outbreak of terroristic threats in Kentucky schools has school leaders looking for answers, which may not come easily. Vigilance, clear procedures for responding and an effective way to punish the perpetrators are among the strategies. And training is just around the corner.

 

               Restitution Solution?

 

               Threat Training

 

 

 

Maker movement
A makerspace is a place where inventive ideas meet tools to become reality, and these buildings of brainstorms have now made their way into Kentucky public schools. The Boone County district has opened its makerspace to the entire northern Kentucky region.

Wild blue careers
The aviation and aerospace industries are exploding in Kentucky and public schools are catching on, giving their students an opportunity to study in a career pathway that is taking off. The STEM-heavy curriculum involved is another bonus.

 

               Preparing for takeoff: Teachers learning on the job

Technology PEAK
The program with a colorful acronym – TEALS – has produced living-color results for Lee County Schools. The district’s partnership with Microsoft Inc. brought high-tech training and learning to this isolated system. The results have won the district a PEAK (Public Education Achieves in Kentucky) Award.

From assistance to distinguished
Cumberland County Schools celebrated its latest round of K-PREP scores in a big way, with a district-wide parade through the county seat. The school system likewise made progress in a big way, using a combination of strategy and attitude.

Getting to know you
Dizzying data and windy PowerPoint presentations go out the window when the Logan County school board meets en masse with the district’s school councils. A round robin format promotes interaction and input among councils and board members.

 

 

West Kentucky superintendents, legislators in give-and-take
As the 2016 General Assembly nears, district leaders are ramping up their contacts with their state representatives and senators. One such example was an October afternoon of talks between area lawmakers and superintendents of the West Kentucky Educational Cooperative in Eddyville. Murray Independent Schools Superintendent Bob Rogers, the co-op’s legislative committee chairman, spelled out the long-term effects of budgetary actions, such as limited SEEK increases over the last eight years and no increase in transportation support, which has fallen from nearly 90 percent state-covered to less than 60 percent.