A North Carolina school district superintendent was chosen Friday as Kentucky's new education chief, responsible for leading efforts to reform testing and academic standards....
The selection is viewed as crucial because the state will face a variety of changes in education over the next few years, including the creation of a new testing and accountability system, new academic standards and possible changes to the Kentucky Education Reform Act...
I'm looking forward to coming and getting down to work," Holliday said after the board introduced him.
The 2009 North Carolina school superintendent of the year said he wants to move rapidly when he takes over in Kentucky. His first scheduled stop Friday was a meeting with Gov. Steve Beshear.
Besides getting to know the staff at the education department, Holliday plans to meet with school superintendents and teachers in the state...
...Holliday said he will be "highly transparent," making use of Twitter and other social Web sites to keep people aware of what he has done and where he's going. Twitter that allows users to post short messages and follow others' messages.
Education board chairman Joe Brothers said the board was attracted to Holliday by several factors, particularly that he was able to boost his district into the top 10 academically in North Carolina even though the district ranks in the bottom 10 in funding.
And this from Nancy Rodriguez at C-J:
..."We started out ahead with reform 20 years ago, and a lot of people are saying we are no longer ahead. We are falling behind," said Joe Brothers, chairman of the state Board of Education. "We need to move ahead, and we need more than just incremental improvements."
Brothers said the state also needs to make larger gains when it comes to meeting the needs of minority students and those with disabilities....
..."These are difficult times we are in. Kentucky is struggling economically just as North Carolina and all of the states across this nation," [Holliday] said. "I think what we have to do is work together in more collaborative ways to find ways to be the most effective and efficient we can."...
..."The main thing is teachers in the classroom helping children being successful," [Holliday] said. "And I can commit to you today that we will work very closely with teachers to keep the progress going."...
...Wilson Sears, executive director of the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents, congratulated Holliday on his selection yesterday, and "pledged the full cooperation of the superintendents across the state.""Together we can move the quality of education in Kentucky forward and work together for the good of our children in Kentucky," said Sears, a former Somerset Independent Schools superintendent.
The Kentucky Education Association released a statement in which it applauded Holliday's hiring, and said it believed "he was clearly the best choice among the four finalists." ...
The most recent commissioner, Jon Draud, served a year before resigning in December following a stroke. Before that, the board hired Barbara Erwin, who resigned before starting work, after inconsistencies were discovered on her resume.
5 comments:
I was intrigued by the fact that the new head of education, Dr. Holloway, plans to be "transparent." Were his predecessors less so? And what exactly does it mean to be transparent these days?
Equally interesting is the fact Holliday plans to keep Kentuckians informed about education via Twitter. What could he possibly need to twitter his constituents for? And, even more intriguing, who besides superintendents would he need to twitter? And for what purpose? Perhaps this reader is uninformed about the power of the state superintendent of education. As I understand it, education is still, very much, a local issue, or have things changed?
I'd have to say the arc of history points toward more transparency. We have seen a significant increase in data transparency over recent decades - not full transparency by any means - but much better. One does not have to go back very far to remember times when schools refused to share test data with the public.
Folks are using Twitter and other networking technologies for a variety of reasons; some personal and frivilous, and others informational.
I just began experimenting with Twitter this week and have found it useful for passing along news of the Petrilli case, in real time. It is too demanding for everyday use, in my opinion, and without meaningful content could quickly become tedious and self-agrandizing. But I have been surprised by the number of folks who don't know me but have sought me out. I think it's the content that matters.
At least one of the state's major education reporters follows and I understand the law firms are folowing the blog and one of them the tweets. The judge even shook his finger at me that other day, so he's reading something.
Following government officials seems to be mostly about daily travels and meetings but it can also be about supporting certain issues.
How important this all proves to be remains to be seen. But if one is well situated, and feeds the followers, like John Calipari, they can certainly garner a large following. And that's voice.
If you think you will get transparency with Holliday . . . I have some property to sell you. Just ask the bloggers of the ISSreport! Mr. Klaene has been asking to see invoices under the freedom of information act for months and Holliday and his BOE have now switched to another high paid attorney to block every request. As to twitter, if you read the blog regarding Holliday's resume, you will see he loves to write and get published. Can anyone spell n.a.r.c.i.s.s.i.s.t.? Do not believe what you hear. Also, we heard his wife may not be coming with him . . . please hurry up and offer her an equally high paying job.
Superintendent of the Year? Hire someone to fill out the application!
Looks like your State Board of Education is impressed by Baldrige...Catherine Cross Maple listed it on her resume,too.
Kentucky eachers, ask the teachers in Gallup-McKinley County Schools about Baldrige. Get ready to use your union Kentucky Teachers, you're going to need it! Once this monster (Baldrige) gets into your school system, you'll play heck getting it out. Beware of your new education commissioner, he bleeds Baldrige!
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