Helen Mountjoy is resigning from her position as Kentucky Education Secretary effective November 30, 2009. Mountjoy has been a key player in the implementation of KERA for many years, first as an outspoken member and later chair of the Kentucky Board of Education, and then as Education Secretary since 2007. Mountjoy’s surprise announcement, coming just…
– Top district in state may have to house students in trailers A huge failing in the Seeking Excellence in Education in Kentucky (SEEK) formula for school funding is that it has failed to equitably support school districts with rapidly increasing enrollment. A number of those rapid growth districts are located in Northern Kentucky. Now,…
Louisville’s WFPL 89.3 FM is announcing the first of a series of new informational events to explain how charter schools can meet real needs in Kentucky.
In an expected move, Governor Steve Beshear has appointed one of the most talented and influential members of the Kentucky State Senate to a Kentucky judgeship position. The Bluegrass Institute will greatly miss Senator Kelly in his senatorial role, but we congratulate him on what is certainly a satisfying personal move and one that enables…
Here’s a hat tip to the Prichard Committee for triggering me on this most incredible article from the Madison Courier coupled with a ‘You MUST be kidding’ for failing to see the obvious problems with what was reported. The newspaper reports that Carroll County Public Schools are evaluating classroom instruction with – are you ready…
– Huge Sunday coverage about teachers’ union impacts in Cincinnati This week’s ‘Sunday Forum’ section in the print version of the Cincinnati Enquirer is devoted to the upcoming renegotiation of the teachers’ union contract in the city’s school system. The articles leave no doubt, many people get it – teachers union contracts are a major…
The Bluegrass Institute released a report, “Examining Kentucky’s No Child Left Behind Tier 5 Schools” in August 2009. This report examined performance in Kentucky’s poorest performing schools under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) assessment program in 2008. One month later, on September 23, 2009 the Kentucky Department of Education released the 2009 NCLB results…
– US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan says so Our concerns about teacher preparation programs are no secret to our readers, but some would like to just dismiss that as ramblings of the Bluegrass Institute. Well, we have some pretty well-informed, high power company with the same concerns – the US Secretary of Education, to…
– So, how come no schools in Jefferson County participate? It’s good news for Henderson County High School, an 88 percent increase in the number of students who passed advanced placement exams in math, science and English from 2007 to 2009. Chalk up another “win” for the Advance Kentucky program, which we have already praised…
– Or, won’t admit Governor Steve Beshear and his education team have been on a whirlwind tour of Kentucky to tout his new task force to “transform” education in the state. At Pikeville, The Appalachian News-Express reports (in an article whose headline misspells the governor’s name) that a question was asked about where the state…