Education

Shannon Maddox first heard the news through a phone call from a colleague.  A plane had struck the World Trade Center in New York City. She immediately turned the television on in her Crittenden Mt. Zion Elementary classroom. It wasn’t long after that teachers were told to keep their students in their classrooms and no one was allowed to go outside.

Many of the freshmen who stepped on the UK campus this fall were in elementary school at the time of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. For many Americans, it seems hard to forget the events of 9/11; the place they were, the people they were with, and even what they were doing that day. But what about young people who were mere children when it happened? Two University of Kentucky freshmen took the opportunity to share their thoughts about September 11th.

A just released study on the progress Kentucky’s made in reforming higher education prompted a celebration today in Frankfort.  But, the party was tempered by a realization of what lies ahead. The study, which was done by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, measured the effectiveness of reforms enacted by the General Assembly in 1997.

The message to incoming students was clear Tuesday night at Western Kentucky University’s Freshman Assembly: finish your degree. That theme was brought home by current students, alumni and administrators through the course of the assembly in E.A. Diddle Arena. WKU Provost Gordon Emslie asked students to pledge their commitment to finishing their degree.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has appointed Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) Commissioner Terry Holliday to the National Assessment Governing Board. “The governing board my make decisions about which types of test NAEP will provide. NAEP tests things like reading and math and science and writing,” said Lisa Gross, Kentucky Department of Education spokeswoman Holliday will serve in the category of chief state school officer, which “sets policy for the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), known as the National Report Card.” NAEP is the country’s only nationally representative assessment of student achievement in various subjects. It’s an independent organization in association with the U.S. Department of Education.

The University of Kentucky is celebrating the inaugural semester of its new "Core" studies program, which all undergraduate students must complete as part of their degree programs. A performance by UK opera students marked the beginning of the ceremony, which celebrated the start of UK Core, which will replace the aging University Studies Program, adopted in the mid-80s. 

Franklin County High School students have earned nearly $10,000 in rewards for passing Advanced Placement courses since the launch of a grant aimed at boosting enrollment and performance. Students and their parents collected checks in a Friday afternoon assembly: $100 for each passing score they received on an AP exam in English, math or science last year. State education officials announced the three-year, $423,000 AdvanceKentucky grant for Franklin County and Western Hills High School in April 2010

NEWPORT - The effort to transform Newport High School received a boost this week with a $770,117 award from the federal School Improvement Grant. Newport became eligible for it after being named by the state this year as a "Persistently Low-Achieving" school. The money will be used in numerous ways, including for the hiring of two education recovery specialists (for math and language arts) and an education recovery leader; professional development for teachers; bus service for taking students on college tours; books and study guides; and computer software.

A school advocate urged state regulators to find a way to lessen the pain on public schools as they consider whether to approve Kentucky Utilities Co.’s request to raise its electric rates.Engineer Darrel Pfingston of Henderson, an energy manager for the Kentucky School Boards Association, proposed that the Kentucky Public Service Commission tie schools’ electric rates to the rate of inflation, which he said is about half the rate that energy has been escalating in recent decades.

Kids attending newly built Wellington Elementary will soon be enjoying a new, state-of-the-art playground, courtesy of the Pepsi Refresh Project, which accepts grant ideas online and then awards up to 50-thousand dollars to those receiving the most votes.

Thursday will be the first official day on the job for new Fayette County School Superintendent Tom Shelton.  The former Daviess County school administrator has spent the last few months settling into the Lexington community. The goal now is to get acquainted with teachers and students.

Around three thousand Fayette County Public School fifth graders this week take a field trip to the Keeneland Race Course. Special events coordinator Kara Heissenbuttel says they worked with the school district to target a good age group.

Frankfort Independent students who pride themselves on their unique style may have to abide by a strict dress code or wear uniforms next fall as part of an effort to curb dropouts. Alan Spade, assistant principal at Frankfort High School, discussed the idea with more than 30 students, parents and teachers Monday night. Studies have shown a correlation between uniform dress codes and higher attendance and graduation rates, he said, though there’s no proof that attire alone did the trick. But as much as they love their small, tight-knit school, the half dozen girls that gathered after the meeting agreed that they would rather transfer to Franklin County Schools than wear uniforms.

After a half century of effort, Eastern Kentucky University has acquired the Elmwood Estate.  The mansion and 20 acres of property, which sits directly across from EKU on Lancaster Avenue, has been a private residence.  Elmwood, which was built in 1887, is believed to be Kentucky’s only Chateauesque-style house outside Louisville. 

A growth spurt in Warren County Public Schools requires more than new buildings and additional teachers. It also creates a bus driver shortage, and the district is trying to fix that problem. Transportation officials need to hire around 15 new bus drivers - a majority of those will be substitute drivers to take over when regular drivers cannot work, said John Odom, district transportation director.

The Kentucky Court of Appeals heard oral arguments today over an interpretation of a state statute, which could affect the JCPS student assignment plan. The debate was between the words enroll versus attend. Since 2000, a state statute (KRS 159.070) has allowed districts to chose where students go to school by removing the word “attend” in legislative language, said Bryon Leet, a JCPS board attorney. Leet said  JCPS can enroll a student at one school and have them attend another, like in the case of the current student assignment plan. But that’s not the state law’s intent, said Bruce Miller, an appellant attorney.

Students, parents, teachers and community members can now access free Kentucky-specific educational materials through iTunes. During Wednesday’s launch at Woodford County High School, state Education Commissioner Terry Holliday called the resource “mass customization of learning,” comparing it to his own Yahoo News page and Twitter feed. “It’s no longer a cookie-cutter education,” he said. “Students can customize their learning lists like they do their music playlists.” The iTunes U project is a partnership among the Kentucky Department of Education, the University of Kentucky and KET.

Irina Voro, the University of Kentucky's new faculty trustee, makes at least $3.3 million less than basketball coach John Calipari, teaches in a cramped studio that houses two pianos, and won not one but two elections to get her seat on the board. She criticizes UK's spending — "Is this the University of Kentucky or Wall Street?" — and said in her platform statement that UK's administration treats the faculty like "bumpkins."

A gas leak at a construction site briefly shut down a Danville street Monday morning, forcing the evacuation of a nearby Centre College building and putting glass-blowing equipment in jeopardy. The street was shut down for about an hour, and the few people in the arts building, including Professor Stephen Rolfe Powell and one of his assistants, were evacuated.

 More than 1,500 University of Kentucky students got out of their dorms and into the Lexington community Monday as part of the annual UK FUSION service event. Junior Son Doan first heard about UK For Unity and Service in Our Neighborhoods, or FUSION, a couple of years ago as a freshman. The finance major spent his Monday afternoon painting a pavilion at the Living Arts and Science Center. 

Monday found fairly a consistent flow of students into Richmond’s book stores.  Classes resume this week at a number of state universities across the Commonwealth. The job market is on the minds of many of the college students. If all goes as she plans, Lancaster Junior Sarah Elliot will graduate next year from Eastern Kentucky University with a nursing degree.  Then, Elliot hopes to work for a Lexington hospital.  Despite the slow economy, the health industry is relatively health.  Still, Elliot worries job seekers may soon flood the healthcare professions.

Female police officers from close to 60 nations are in Lexington for training.  Among them are officers with the United Nations police division.  U-N gender officer Lea Biason says some of the training is for international peacekeepers. “These are the minimum requirement skills needed for police officers to be deployed in international peace keeping operations,” said Biason.