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Education Briefs

Kentucky School Advocate
January 2019

School-level revenues and expenditures available online
In response to requests about school-level revenues and expenses, the Kentucky Department of Education has added reports to its website on school-level finances. The reports are available at the district financial page.

KDE will continue to provide annual financial revenues and expenditures at the district level and has added a new section titled “School Level.” Each report will list revenues or expenditures at the district level, which is then broken down into the school and other cost centers, such as bus garages. The information was submitted by districts.

KDE plans to display three years of information for schools going forward, as it does with district data. There is also a document titled “School Level Summary,” which provides a description of revenues and expenditures by the account codes used in the reports.

The account codes are contained in the “Chart of Account” document on the page.

Kindergarten Readiness by Group Percentage

Small decrease in kindergarten readiness
Slightly more than half of the students entering kindergarten in the 2018-19 school year were ready, according to the results of the annual Kindergarten Readiness Screener.

The results, released by the Kentucky Department of Education, showed that 51 percent of all students were prepared for kindergarten, down slightly from 51.4 percent in the previous school year.

More female students, 55.6 percent, were considered ready, while 46.7 of male students were prepared, the results show. The results also showed that the gap between groups of students is present when students enter school, showing that 47.3 percent of African-American students were ready and 40.4 percent of students who qualify for free or reduced-priced lunch were ready. Both of those student groups’ readiness decreased over last year’s results.

The readiness rates for students with disabilities and English language learners increased over the previous school year.

Students who attended childcare had the highest readiness (70.3 percent), while students who remained at home before kindergarten were the least ready at 36.7 percent. The results also showed that readiness rates for students enrolled in state-funded preschool have increased in each of the last five years and now stand at 50.8 percent, just below the state average.

PAEMST nominations open
Nominations are open for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST), the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government specifically for K-12 mathematics and science teaching.

Anyone may nominate exceptional mathematics or science teachers – including computer science teachers – who are currently teaching grades seven through 12. Awards are given to teachers from each of the 50 states who have developed and implemented a high-quality instructional program that is informed by content knowledge and enhances student learning.

The nomination deadline is March 1; the application deadline for nominated teachers is May 1. Visit www.paemst.org for more information, to nominate a teacher or to apply.

Lack of funding means no 10th grade ACT
Although Senate Bill 1 (2017) mandates that students in grades 10 and 11 take a college admissions examination, this school year Kentucky 10th-graders will not take the ACT, according to the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE). KDE officials said in recent email to district assessment coordinators, that 10th grade participation in the state-required college admissions exam has been contingent on available funds and this year the department was unable to secure the funds needed to test sophomores in spring 2019. KDE officials said they would continue to seek funding in the future in order to be able to comply with the law.