Monday, July 20, 2009

Terry Holliday Performs His First Miracle

Kentucky is facing some significant challenges as it redefines its accountability system and begins to create School Reform 2.0. Persistent achievement gaps, inadequate funding, and a gloomy economy seem foreboding. We could use a miracle.

Fortunately we have a miracle worker in our midst.

Consider this: That without breaking Kentucky's Open Meetings Act, miraculously, Terry Holliday, somehow, knew to be in Kentucky on the morning he was named as Kentucky's newest Education Commissioner. He even knew which city to visit and found his way to the Board of Education offices. What prescience! Since the Kentucky Board of Education is prohibited from taking official action outside of the public view, and therefore Holliday cold not possibly have know of his selection in advance, it is obvious that he has supernatural powers to offer the state.

And we could use a little magic.

Holliday stories in the news:

This from H-L:

State picks education commissioner
A full-plate of crucial projects will be waiting for Holliday when he takes over as Kentucky's commissioner Aug. 5. They include the creation of a new statewide assessment and accountability system; the development of new state
curriculum standards; and efforts to better prepare Kentucky high school graduates for success in college.

All of those items are mandated under Senate Bill 1, the sweeping education reform measure passed by the General Assembly this year.

Holliday said he's eager to get started.

"The first thing I want to do is meet the people here in the Department of Education," he said. "I plan on being on the road quite a bit, visiting schools and opening schools. But I need to sit down with superintendents. No matter what we do here in Frankfort, they have to make it work."...

This from AP by way of KSBA:

This interview from C-J:

Hat tip to KSBA, and H-L's Jim Warren from whom I totally stole the miracle idea.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Get ready to spend your money on Baldridge. Enjoy!! Please Kentucky , hire all the cronies left at the Central office in ISS that need to help him implement your educational miracles. Please and pretty please. Take them all and especially all the Instructional Facilitators.

Anonymous said...

Based on what I have read, I feel I am teaching in a very dishonest state.

Anonymous said...

Yes, please. Enjoy! We are so happy to get him out of NC. It sounds like SC feels the same! Would like to know more about that!

Anonymous said...

Sounds like your State Board of Education and Terry Holliday have a lot in common.
Watch your wallet!