• What Kentucky was told in the early days of KERA:“Business is telling us that all students must be able to think and solve problems at the level originally required of a few.” “Learners initiate, implement, and evaluate their own learning.” “Student-Directed Learning is characterized by students taking responsibility for setting the direction of their…
The Norton Blog, just posted an incredible discussion about the real motivation behind “Constructivist Math,” what we often refer to here simply as “fuzzy” math. Per Norton, the plan was to teach math in ways such that parents couldn’t help their children. That would diminish the credibility and authority of parents with their kids, opening…
Lexington sewer rates could double, even TRIPLE! When we covered the big hikes in water and sewer rates in Northern Kentucky earlier this year, we warned the rest of the state that they would be next. Chickens are now coming home to roost in Lexington, driven by incredible demands from the EPA. Don’t live in…
It’s no surprise to us that school systems, strapped for cash, are turning to digital learning to keep the costs of summer school within reason. At Cincinnati.com, they report that use of digital learning is growing on both sides of the Ohio river near the home of the Reds. Kids are succeeding with this program,…
Stirred by Courier’s inept editorializing about new school superintendent Louisville’s only daily newspaper has a real knack for making enemies. As an unabashed, ultra-liberal advocacy journalism house, the Courier-Journal’s biases invite opposition from a wide-ranging group of people who long for a little balance in the newspaper’s extreme editorializing. A great case in point is…
Would drop NCLB for school assessment program that still doesn’t even exist In a bid to escape the accountability provisions of No Child Left Behind, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear is asking the US Department of Education to allow Kentucky to use its own state system of accountability, instead. One big problem here is that a…
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) just announced that former J.B. Atkinson Elementary School Principal Dewey Hensley has just been named an associate commissioner at the department. Hensley is being placed in charge of efforts to “support low-performing schools and districts that are identified for educational recovery based on state and federal guidelines and requirements.…
Courier Journal Editorial – June 11, 2011 “JCPS Board fails to find sound candidate; search must resume” Jefferson County Board of Education – June 14, 2011 “Donna Hargens named JCPS superintendent” Looks like the board has had enough of the Courier’s editorial advice.
Once again, Jefferson County Public Schools have opted to use the “Staff Replacement” option to turn around Knight Middle School, the latest school in the district to join the Persistently Low-Achieving Schools list in Kentucky. This same model is now being used in ALL 13 the Jefferson County Low-Achieving schools. However, application in Jefferson County…
“Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.” Edmund Burke The new National Assessment of Educational Progress in History report is out, and it looks like our kids still don’t know much about history. Average scores for grades 4 and 12 are not statistically significantly different in 2010 from what they were in…