Kentucky Department of Education

 

ISN Archived E-mails 01-31-2007
In this issue: A recent study by ACT and The Education Trust defines the specific rigorous academic skills that need to be taught in English, math and science high school courses to prepare graduates for college and work.  KTLC registration now open.  Registration information can be found by going to KTLC ... More

 

ISN Archived E-mail 01-24-2007
In this issue: In November 2005, the Education Trust released a paper entitled Gaining Traction, Gaining Ground.  This paper featured the research findings of an extensive study that looked at how certain high schools are improving the performance of all children using similar initiatives.  KTLC registration now open.  The Kentucky Center ... More

 

ISN Archived E-mail 01-07-2007
In this issue:  Redefining Professional Development. The Kentucky Reading Project (KRP) is a professional development initiative for Kentucky public school elementary (P-5) teachers.  KTLC registration now opwn.  Registration information can be found by going to  KTLC Conference Registration. 

 

ISN Archived E-mail 1-03-07
In this issue:  "The heart of instruction is the monitoring of instruction."  This quote from Dan Lortie is an affirmation about what research is telling us -- that the key to sustained school improvement lies in making sure that leadership knows what is being taught.  Mt. Vernon Elementary received an Achievement ... More

 

ISN Archived E-mail 3-14-07
In this issue: Teaching for  understanding is an approach to planning and teaching that helps teachers answer the difficult question of how best to nurture student understanding.  If you have innovative ways to use PD time, we would like to hear from you.  Please e-mail a description and details about your ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 03-21-2007
In this issue: 2007 Kentucky Teaching and Learning Conference (KTLC).  Gene Wilhoits KTLC Address. Schools and districts can use time more effectively to establish ongoing, embedded professional development in schools.

 

ISN Archived E-mail 03-28-2007
In this issue: The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) convened the Commission on the Whole Child.  The commission recently issued a new report called The Learning Compact Redefined: A Call to Action. The Kentucky Virtual High School is involved in a federal grant entitled e-Learning Kentucky. On April 18-21, ... More

 

ISN Archived E-mail 04-04-2007
In this issue: Recently shared information from the National Staff Development Council (NSDC) about how to find more time for teacher learning.Create teacher teams that meet consistently to discuss and evaluate student learning.Getting Started: Reculturing Schools to Become Professional Learning Communities Student interventions to address individual student needs.  Kentucky Writing Project  Content ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 01-09-2008
In this issue: 2008 is going to be an important year for instructional leaders to focus on instruction, planning and professional development. Documents and PowerPoint presentations from the ISN Fall Meeting are now available on the KDE Web site. Teaching for understanding includes four dimensions that must be addressed in developing standards-based ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 12-19-2007
In this issue: Drakes Creek Middle School shared the strategies in scheduling that help students improve in reading and mathematics during a breakout session at the Annual Fall ISN Meeting. The school uses exploratory classes to intervene with students who struggle. To support the intensive work being done with students, teachers ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 12-12-2007
In this issue:  The ISN newsletter will be reviewing the main points of breakout sessions from the Annual ISN Fall Meeting that was held on November 29-30. One aspect of a successful professional learning community (PLC) is its ability to evaluate the impact of professional development on student learning. “Interventions will ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 12-05-2007
In this issue:  The Annual ISN Fall Meeting was held on November 29-30. In the book, Whatever it Takes: How a Professional Learning Community Responds When Kids Don’t Learn (DuFour, 2004), the authors describe four questions that each school or district must ask. It is the third question that is the basis ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 11-28-2007
In this issue: Many questions are confronting schools and districts today in the face of high-stakes accountability. Many teachers are still sitting in one-day workshops and learning in isolation. Rick and Becky DuFour authored a book called What Ever It Takes: How Professional Learning Communities Respond When Kids Don't Learn. latest ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 11-14-2007
In this issue: One of the issues related to job-embedded professional development is a definition of “job-embedded.” Standard 2 provides a wide-ranging list of professional development experiences that would be considered “job-embedded.”  The best vehicle to ensure that professional development is job-embedded has proven to be the implementation of professional learning ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 11-07-2007
In this issue:  KDE does not “approve” professional development for school staff; that responsibility falls to individual school districts. “What tool(s) can a school district use in determining whether or not to grant professional development credit?” Standards for High Quality Professional Development The Kentucky Association of Student Financial Aid Administration (KASFAA) ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 10-31-2007
In this issue:  9 Things You Simply Must Do to Succeed in Love and Life. Cloud’s book contains his observations of nine principles commonly practiced by the successful leaders. Treat others with integrity and better than they deserve. “Leadership Wired” newsletter archives can be accessed on the Maximum Impact Web site. ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 10-24-2007
In this issue:  The development of goal-achieving strategies and activities that are monitored and evaluated. Consideration must be given to what order strategies and activities must occur in order to meet the school and district priority needs and improvement goals. Monitoring and evaluation is key to the effective implementation of school and district improvement plans. If ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 10-17-2007
In this issue:  The next step in our series on school and district improvement planning is the process of setting achievement goals.  Goals must accurately reflect a positive movement toward a student performance standard. Whenever possible, goals should be written using No Child Left Behind (NCLB) language. Please contact David Cook or Erin ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 10-10-2007
In this issue:  Step in our series on school and district improvement planning,  deals with identifying and analyzing causes and contributing factors of priority needs for advancing student achievement. Understanding the causes and contributing factors is essential for change. Schools and districts should search for the root cause.  Next week's newsletter ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 10-03-2007
In this issue: How to use data as the basis for an effective planning process that leads to continuous school and district improvement. Understanding the multiple sources of data and how they can be used to effectively determine priority student achievement needs. Using more than one source of data is needed to ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 09-26-2007
In this issue:  The sixth Big Idea is mid-course corrections. Mid-course corrections occur in six options: practice, re-teach, abandon, move on, extend and connect. An effective teacher uses mid-course corrections to check student learning and change direction or strategy to ensure all students understand the content and obtain the skills necessary ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 09-19-2007
In this issue: The fifth Big Idea is overt responses. Rutherford Learning Group principle #5 states that learning-centered teachers elicit overt responses from all learners during instruction. Learning-centered teachers use overt responses to check learning during teaching by using Depth of Knowledge verbs and investigative inquiry. The student skill is called ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 09-12-2007
In this issue:  Continuing our series on the instructional coaching model for the School Administration Manager (SAM) Project, the fourth Big Idea is task analysis. Learning-centered teachers create a task analysis for each learning goal. There three steps to designing a task analysis. Sub-learnings are the skills a student must possess ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 09-05-2007
In this issue:  School Administration Manager (SAM) Project’s instructional coaching program based on the Rutherford Learning Group (RLG), principle #3 states that learning-centered teachers begin instruction based on a diagnosis of prior learning. The first is formal assessment (diagnosis). The second type of diagnosis is inferential assessment (diagnosis).  And type three ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 08-29-2007
In this issue: The annual ISN meeting has been rescheduled for November 29-30. ISN shared information about the School Administration Manager (SAM) Project’s instructional coaching program that is focused on building and supporting teacher efficacy. Learning-centered teachers plan activities that are congruent to the learning goal (target). Congruency refers to an ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 08-22-2007
In this issue: ISN shared information about the School Administration Manager (SAM) Project that places SAMs in schools to handle the management duties of the principal. The principle of clear learning goals examines the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively manage time and instruction in a classroom. High-quality instruction includes both ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 08-15-2007
In this issue:  The School Administration Manager (SAM) Project places SAMs in schools to handle the management duties so that the principal can focus at least 70% of his or her time on instruction. The SAM school principals are focusing on 6 big ideas and 18 instructional practices to build and ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 08-08-2007
In this issue:  Effective teaching begins each year with a reflective review of the previous year and a plan to improve the next. The First Days of School, by Harry and Rosemary Wong, (Harry Wong Publications). Students, regardless of age or ability, want to know seven basic things on the first ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 08-01-2007
In this issue: The Kentucky Department of Education’s “Open Response Questions in the Classroom” manual has been revised. To access the manual, go to Developing Quality Open Response and Multiple Choice Items for the Classroom. The theme for the 2008 Kentucky Teaching and Learning Conference is “Student Learning for the 21st ... More

 

ISN News Archived Email 07-25-2007
In this issue:  A new report by the North American Council for Online Learning and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills indicates that virtual learning can transform education. Virtual Schools and 21st Century Skills  Effective virtual schools and online learning should promote...Kentucky Virtual High School  The updated Kentucky Valid Course Code ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 07-18-2007
In this issue: Look at specific research KDE’s science consultants have done to see what successful schools are doing to increase student achievement. Schools in Kentucky that have shown significant and steady improvements on CATS in science were polled and asked what they are doing to increase student achievement. One common thread ... More

 

ISN Archived Emails 07-11-2007
In this issue:  KDE content consultants (elementary, middle, high) are asking themselves questions. Elements of high-quality instruction that are most closely correlated to increased student achievement found in research by Black and Wiliam, 2001. An important factor in creating the kind of environment where students excel is having a strong teacher.  A ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 07-04-2007
In this issue: This summer, writing cluster leaders will be provided training via WebEx, an online presentation program. The recorded sessions will be online at Kentucky State Government WebEx Training Center. Teachers will be able to attend a portfolio scoring accuracy verification session in July. Finally, the Writing Advisory Committee (WAC) has several position ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 06-27-2007
In this issue:“Improving Relationships Within the Schoolhouse.” The Best of Educational Leadership 2005-06. The nature of relationships among the adults within a school. How adults interact in schools. Four types of relationships observed in schools. School leaders foster collegiality.Improving Relationships Within The Schoolhouse. Professional development year runs from July 1 to ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 06-20-2007
In this issue: The final piece of the “Ecology of Change” framework. Transformative change requires time, and it also requires a strategic phasing and staging of efforts to build a strong foundation for reinventing schooling. Ecology of Change - Framework and Approach. KDE’s Division of Exceptional Children Services and the Office ... More

 

ISN Archived Emails 06-13-2007
In this issue:  Feature on the “Ecology of Change” framework.Transformative change requires a systemic understanding of the problems district and school leaders are trying to solve. The 4Cs is a framework for diagnosing current systemic problems and building a powerful vision of what the solution should entail. Ecology of Change - ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 06-06-2007
In this issue: The next key idea in the “Ecology of Change” framework.  More information on the “Ecology of Change” and the resources available through the CLG are available at Ecology of Change - Framework and Approach. Building on a foundation that identifies courageous school leadership and the professional learning community as ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 05-30-2007
In this issue: Discussion of the “7 Disciplines for Strengthening Instruction.” Three Continua capture three distinct yet interrelated dimensions.Framework and Approach Harvard’s Change Leadership Group and the framework for the group’s “Ecology of Change.” KnowledgeWorks Foundation (KWF). One of the key initiatives of the KWF has been the preparation. “Map of Future ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 05-23-2007
In this issue:"The Seven Disciplines for Strengthening Instruction". Change Leadership Group Improve instruction district-wide. An outline of both a process and a set of intermediate goals that are most likely to significantly improve student achievement. Go to 7 Disciplines for Strengthening Instruction to read the entire article. “Assessment Through the Student’s Eyes.” ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 05-16-2007
In this issue: “Ecology of Change.” “Communities of Practice.” The unrecognized key to educational improvement. “Transforming education from a craft to a profession is the greatest challenge school and district leaders face. ‘Professionalizing’ education.The Challenge of Change Leadership. Making the Most of Summer eLearning Kentucky will offer 19 high-quality, facilitated and ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 05-09-2007
In this issue:“Technical” change. Situations that require us to change. “Adaptive” change. Changes that cannot be solved by someone higher up who provides answers. Change Leadership Group  Framework & Approach” that addresses adaptive change and how to provide leadership for the process.  The framework is based on an “Ecology of Change” ... More

 

ISN Archived E-mail 05-02-2007
In this issue: The question, "What happens when, despite our best efforts in the classroom a student does not learn?" is examined in the book, Whatever It Takes: How Professional Learning Communities Respond When Kids Don’t Learn. A Professional Learning Community (PLC) will not leave this critical question to each teacher to resolve.Whatever ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 04-25-2007
In this issue:Classroom assessment and grading practices.Feedback for learning.Educational Leadership magazine. Seven Practices for Effective Learning Grading practices used to enhance learning. Minority Superintendent Internship Program (MSIP). Applicants should hold, or be close to fulfilling, superintendent certification. Applications will be accepted through May 25.Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts to offer teachers ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 04-18-2007
In this issue: No Child Left Behind Act Students whose family income is low and who attend schools that do not make adequate yearly progress (AYP) for three consecutive years. States are responsible for identifying eligible supplemental service providers (SSPs). School districts are required to arrange for the provision of these supplemental ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 04-11-2007
In this issue: Getting to the bottom of adolescent readers' comprehension and motivation difficulties.Common practices that create barriers to engaged reading and comprehension development.Five ineffective strategies for developing reading comprehension. Learning From What Doesn't Work. “ISN Live” statewide meeting. Please respond to David Cook and let him know your thoughts on ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 02-28-2007
In this issue:  Keeping a Success Diary or Success Log is so important.  It allows you to prove to yourself and to your school community that progress is being made. 

 

ISN Archived Email 02-21-07
In this issue:  By March 1, according to 702 KAR 3:246, districts are required to supply each school council with allocations for staff and instructional materials and a tentative professional development.  The Adolescent Literacy Coaching Project (ALCP) is a professional development initiative offered by the Collaborative Center for Literacy Development in ... More

 

ISN Archived Email 02-14-2007
In this issue: In a study conducted by WestEd entitled Improving Student Achievement by Extending School: Is It Just a Matter of Time?  Daviess County Public Schools (DCPS) has been selected to participate in the Executive Leadership Program for Educators at Harvard University.

 

ISN Archived E-mail 1-10-2007
In this issue:  "Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum" the "viable" part is that Kentucky schools have a legal standard on which the curriculum must be based.  So if the school curriculum is aligned to this standard, then you have a "viable curriculum". Extensive training and promotion has enabled eWalk to become the standard ... More