Commish visits Ashland's Hager Elem

School chief visits Blue Ribbon School

This from the Daily Independent:

The first-graders in Kari Kennedy’s class were vigorously singing they like, like, like, apples and bananas.They didn’t realize the gray-haired man talking to their teacher was the state’s highest education official and that Kennedy was telling him what she likes — and doesn’t like —about the state of education in Kentucky.

State Commissioner of Education Terry Holliday spent the afternoon at Hager Elementary School on Monday in a belated visit to observe Hager’s designation as a 2009 Blue Ribbon School. He visited classrooms, talked to student groups and conferred with faculty while he was there.

“It’s nice to be able to talk to someone from Frankfort. We don’t get the opportunity that often,” said Kennedy, who discussed with Holliday the challenges of preparing her students to transition from the free-wheeling fun atmosphere of first grade to the more circumscribed arena that is second grade.

Visiting classrooms around the state brings Holliday a real-world perspective on Kentucky’s education system. “I like to ask teachers what we’re doing in Frankfort that’s getting in the way of teaching kids,” he said...