Education

The Council on Postsecondary Education will limit tuition increases at state schools to 3 percent next fall, the smallest uptick in 15 years. The decision was made to help families struggling to pay for college, officials said, but they acknowledged the move will create a nearly $30 million shortfall for schools still reeling from state cutbacks over the past few years.

Hundreds of Kentucky young people could get a feel for jobs well established in their communities.  It’s the first ‘Career Craze’ event offered by the Kentucky Community and Technical College System.  32 hands on camps will be held at 16 K-C-T-C-S colleges across the state.   Chancellor Jay Box says participants will be introduced to ‘potential careers.’  “It’s an opportunity to expose young students to careers in business and industry and entirely focusing on the five major sectors of employment here in Kentucky,” said Box.

Kentucky ranks 39th in the U.S. for the state of its child care centers—earning high marks for posting complaint records online but poor marks for not  requiring center directors to have bachelor's degrees, says a new report. The report, from Child Care Aware of America, said Kentucky could improve its child care center's regulations by requiring state and federal fingerprints for checking criminal backgrounds and changing its educational requirements for lead teachers.

The Next Generation Science Standards are coming to Kentucky's public schools in the 2014-15 school year. The new standards meet the benchmarks set in Senate Bill 1 adopted in 2009. The standards fall in line with the current emphasis on STEM disciplines: science, technology, engineering and mat

Kentucky business leaders and education advocates are teaming up to start a new funding source for innovation in education. The Fund for Transforming Education in Kentucky—also known as the The Fund—is being launched to help with grants and extra fundraising for the Kentucky Department of Education.

First Lady Michelle Obama comes to Eastern Kentucky University in May to participate in the spring commencement ceremony.    EKU President Doug Whitlock says his office got a call from a member of the First Lady’s staff almost a week ago.  Eastern is receiving national attention for the help it gives Veterans working to further their education.  Whitlock says it caught the eye of Mrs. Obama.  A White House staff member asked if she could attend the University’s graduation ceremony.  Saying it was more than okay, Whitlock says the school was seeking a speaker for the third exercise. In fact, he says it was the only one her schedule would permit.

Kentucky is first in the nation for improving its rate of qualifying scores on Advanced Placement tests since 2008, say officials who testified to the Kentucky Board of Education Wednesday. The commonwealth is also second in the nation for its rate increase for just math and science AP scores and officials are giving credit to the state's AP initiative AdvanceKentucky, which provides teacher training and other resources to encourage AP enrollment for all students.

Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday is giving school districts an extra incentive to increase the dropout age to 18. Under a law passed this year, school districts may voluntary decide to increase the dropout age from 16 to 18. If 55 percent of Kentucky’s school districts adopt the policy, all districts must follow within four years.

Eastern Kentucky University’s next president sees fundraising as a key priority.    Dr. Michael Benson, who’s currently president of Southern Utah University, says private contributions may be the best way to advance a science building under construction at Eastern.

CLARKSTON, Ga. — Since the 1970s, federal court orders have governed how many Southern communities integrated their public schools. But new research shows, as those orders have been lifted, school districts are gradually re-segregating. But why? In the fading sunlight of late afternoon in a church basement in Clarkston, Georgia, Tucker High School junior Micky Zegeye studies for a math test with his tutor.

Birmingham, Ala. – Ever since the Supreme Court declared segregated schools unconstitutional in Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954, the racial makeup of our schools has been in flux. Forced integration made the South’s public schools some of the most integrated in the country, but now – here and across the nation – our schools are re-segregating. The Southern Education Desk is taking a deep look at the issue with a multi-part series exploring this complex trend. In the second installment, the SED’s Alabama reporter Dan Carsen goes back in time to examine a strategy whites once used to sidestep public school integration, one that still shapes communities today — so-called “segregation academies”:

Listen in as students and faculty at Eastern Kentucky University exercise their 1st Amendment Rights.  This stream comes this afternoon from the Powell Building on the Main Campus in Richmond.  It's a demonstration of the power and fragility of America's Right to speak freely.  Be warned, these citizens could say anything.

The University of Kentucky violated the state Open Records Act by refusing to release documents about surgeries at Kentucky Children's Hospital, the state attorney general's office has ruled. The attorney general's opinion carries the weight of law in open records cases, although it can be appealed to circuit court. UK spokesman Jay Blanton said Monday that the university was reviewing its legal options.

Officials with the agency overseeing Kentucky’s college financial aid expect to figure out how many students will be receiving benefits in the next week.The state doles out around $100 million in financial aid annually, but that money is on a first come first served basis. Erin Klarer is with the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority. She says more people are understanding the importance of higher education.