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Kentucky School Advocate

February 2016

Confidentially speaking

The federal and state laws and guidelines governing student records confidentiality will be reviewed and updated in a March 21 KSBA workshop in Lexington. The five-hour training begins at 9:30 a.m. (registration, 9 a.m.) at the Marriott Griffin Gate in Lexington. The session, presented by KSBA Legal and Administrative Training Service Director Teresa T. Combs and association policy staff, covers confidentiality provisions in the new Every Student Succeeds Act, the state’s juvenile justice reform, state and federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy acts, online privacy law and more.

The cost of the training is $180, and includes on-site lunch. For more information or to register, click here.

Closing consultation
Winter isn’t over, which means KSBA’s resource for school district decision makers remains on the association’s website, www.ksba.org. A link under “Important bookmarks” on the home page takes readers to a listing of links to regional news media sites that are set up to notify the public about school and other closings due to inclement weather. This is the third year that KSBA has provided this service, which enables superintendents and others who make closing decisions to see what their peers in the region and across the state are deciding to do regarding the weather.

Check computer, not mailbox
Don’t forget that the March issue of the Kentucky School Advocate will not be delivered in print form. The issue is published only electronically, allowing a quick turnaround for coverage of KSBA’s annual conference, Feb. 26–28. Look for the new issue to be posted March 3.

Kentucky breakfast at NSBA
Kentuckians who travel to Boston for the 2016 National School Boards Association’s annual conference April 9-11 are invited to a KSBA-hosted breakfast. This will be for only Kentuckians who are registered for the conference, and will be in place of participation in a multistate Central Region evening reception. The breakfast will be at the conference headquarters hotel, the Boston Weston Waterfront (a few steps from the convention center) from 7:30–9 a.m. on Sunday, April 10. Kentucky board members, superintendents and others taking part in the conference will get more information on the event later this spring.

Special education honors
Muhlenberg North Middle School educator Kelly Teague is the Kentucky Special Education Teacher of the Year. The Muhlenberg County Schools special education teacher received that award from the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children and the Kentucky Department of Education.

Teague has been a special education teacher for grades 6–8 in Muhlenberg County schools since 2009. She serves on the Special Education Advisory Council, is a sponsor for the Beta Club and is a member of her school’s special education professional learning community.

With her award, she received $500 and a gift basket. Two finalists for the award also were recognized: Bridget Arnett, a special education teacher at Grapevine Elementary in Hopkins County Schools, and Dana Roney, a special education teacher at Green County High School.

Honor roll
The College Board has named six Kentucky public school districts to the 6th Annual Advanced Placement Honor Roll. They are Berea and Fort Thomas independent districts; and Boyle, Bullitt, Hopkins and Logan county school systems. Fort Thomas Independent and Logan County have received the award multiple years in a row. In all, 425 public and private districts in North America made the list, which comprises schools that have shown a commitment to expanding access to AP courses while also improving student performance. Inclusion is based on three years of AP data, from 2013-15.

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Long-timers
Three KSBA employees were honored recently for their tenure at the association. They are (pictured from left) attorney John Fogle, unemployment specialist MerryAnn Marshall and Board Team Development administrative assistant Tammie Conatser. Conatser and Fogle have 10 years of service, while Marshall’s 35 years makes her KSBA’s longest-serving, current full-time employee.