MONDAY SUPERINTENDENT E-MAIL – 4/25/11
The Monday E-mail contains information on the following KDE-related topics:
- TELL Survey Access Codes
- National Academy Foundation College and Career Readiness Initiative
- Call to participate in April earthquake drill
If you have questions about the specific items, please see the contact information for each item.
Items from KDE
TELL Survey Access Codes
Today superintendents and most principals should have received the access code for your district and school results regarding the Teaching, Empowering, Leading and Learning (TELL) Kentucky Survey. Please share your district-specific code with all school-level educators so that the results can be reviewed by all relevant participants in your district. Please remember that school level data will not be displayed for schools that did not meet participation requirements. If you have not received your code, please contact Troy Teegarden at (502) 564-1479 x4029 or troy.teegarden@education.ky.gov .
There are many tools available at http://www.tellkentucky.org to help you discuss and drill down your results at both the district and school levels. More information will be forthcoming regarding useful and relevant ways to use your TELL Survey data, beginning with a Webinar on April 27 from 4:00-5:00PM EST intended for district and school leaders, such as central office, local representatives of associations or organizations such as KEA, KSBA, KASC, etc. Participants will see an overview of the TELL Kentucky results, how to drill down to locate data at the school, district, and state level, and suggestions for planning further work incorporating TELL Kentucky data in the school improvement planning process. Please register by visiting http://www.doodle.com/iyywqhtcw7qxewxn. The webinar will also be archived for later viewing at http://www.tellkentucky.org.
Items from Outside Agencies
National Academy Foundation College and Career Readiness Initiative
The National Academy Foundation’s (NAF) education model to build school-based “learning communities” that empower high school students to successfully go on to higher education, professions of their choosing and active community participation is aligned to Kentucky’s college and career readiness/Senate Bill 1 agenda.
KDE believes “career academies” will help to ensure the preparation of students for postsecondary education while providing them with skills and experience necessary to attain entry level jobs. Students in career academies take a blend of career and academic classes linked to academic and industry standards promoting high achievement. These academies focus on one of four career themes: finance; hospitality and tourism; information technology; and engineering. Beyond the 2011-12 Year-of-Planning pilot year, KDE and NAF will explore other career academy themes pertaining to specific area and industry needs.
An NAF career academy exists as a school-within-a-school, stand-alone school or small learning community and provides opportunities to all students. NAF is a collaborative partnership with Project Lead the Way (PLTW), the STEM Academy (STEM 101) and ConnectED. If a district uses the PLTW curriculum or has a small learning community grant, NAF could provide additional support and resources to enhance these experiences for students.
In the next few weeks, interested districts and schools will be invited to a NAF/KDE webinar providing further information how districts and schools can participate in this exciting opportunity.
For more information about this initiative (an optional college and career strategy identified in the College and Career Readiness Plan in Senate Bill 1) or to express interest in participating, please contact Carole Frakes (carole.frakes@education.ky.gov) by May 2. Details also are available at www.naf.org.
The National Academy Foundation (NAF) is an acclaimed network of career-themed academies that opens doors for underserved high school students to college and viable careers. For nearly 30 years, NAF has refined a proven model that provides young people access to industry-specific curricula, work-based learning experiences, and relationships with business professionals. NAF academies focus on one of four career themes: finance, hospitality & tourism, information technology, and engineering.
Each year, NAF serves more than 50,000 students in approximately 500 academies in 41 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. NAF’s national graduation rate of 90 percent testifies to the effectiveness this effort.
Call to participate in April earthquake drill
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano have called on P-12 schools and colleges and universities across the central U.S. - and throughout the country - to help their students, faculty and communities prepare for earthquakes by participating in a public earthquake drill on Thursday, April 28. Eleven states in the New Madrid Seismic Zone are participating in the drill, the "Great Central U.S. ShakeOut," which takes place at 10:15 a.m. CT. Anyone can register to participate, whether at school, at work or at home; to date, over two million Americans have signed up.
Participating in the Shakeout drill is simple - and anyone can participate. Schools and colleges can sign up at http://www.shakeout.org/centralus/index.html, which has instructions and resources to support educators, community groups and individuals interested in conducting the ShakeOut.
In addition, the Department of Education's Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools Technical Assistance Center provides guidance to help schools and communities can plan for, respond to and recover from a disaster such as an earthquake. For more information, visit http://rems.ed.gov.
Participating states include Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee.