Due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus, Kentucky childcare facilities have been ordered to close. The Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence is committed to ensuring that learning continues to take place at this time. The following websites link to resources for both parents and providers impacted by this closure.

Prior to joining the staff of the Prichard Committee, I worked for the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) as Chief Communications Officer. This provided me with a familiarity with the powerful work of the department’s education recovery team. I was surprised to learn that Senate Bill 158, filed two weeks ago, would remove KDE from school turnaround, as they are considered a national model in this space. Within one year of being designated for Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) under Kentucky’s new accountability system, Menifee Elementary School in Frenchburg, Ky., exited the status, and was designated a 3-star school. This progress would not have happened without KDE’s education recovery team.

House Bill 87 of the 2020 Regular Session of the Kentucky General Assembly aims to increase the number of students completing the FAFSA – the Free Application for Federal Student Aid – by making it a high school graduation requirement. The legislation would allow waivers of the requirement under certain circumstance for hardship or if a student/parent certifies they understand the FAFSA and are choosing not to fill it out. Recently, several states – including Louisiana, Texas, and Illinois – have adopted requirements similar to what is being proposed in House Bill 87.  Louisiana saw a 25% increase in completions after implementing the change, but it is not all attributed to the requirement.  Louisiana took a multi-pronged approach including peer-support programs, one-on-one assistance for students and families, phone-call reminders, and completion incentives.

In 1980, a young mother walked into Hindman Settlement School’s administrative offices. She seemed desperate and downtrodden. “My son has dyslexia,” she told the director. “I have dyslexia. The school is not able to help him in the way he needs it. What can you do?” The “you” quickly became a “we” who stepped up to help her son—and then many, many more like him. Today Hindman Settlement School remains the leader in dyslexia intervention and education in Central Appalachia and has never turned away a child because of their family’s inability to pay for services. We provide a community-based approach to specialized rural education for children with reading challenges.

Within Kentucky school districts, teacher salaries vary in predictable and transparent ways. Teacher education levels and years of experience predict salaries – by design (from Kentucky state statutes) and through decisions (from school board members in local districts). Over the past 20 years, numerous recommendations have called for salaries to vary based on additional factors, but these recommendations have so far not translated into substantial policy changes at the local level.