School News from Around Kentucky

IPads help reinforce lessons for Kentucky kindergarteners: Kindergarten students at a Kentucky elementary school are regularly using iPads in the classroom. The devices are loaded with age-appropriate applications that help solidify classroom lessons. "I'm still doing the teaching, but it gives them opportunities to reinforce those skills for students who don't grasp the skills the first time. It gives them that extra practice," their teacher said. (WPSD-TV)

Community turns out to support Iroquois High, offer help to students: More than 70 parents, community members, alumni and students filled the Iroquois High School library on Thursday night to hear what they can do to help the struggling south Louisville school. The forum was held to channel an outpouring of support in the wake of publicity after the school was named one of the state's 10 most “persistently low achieving,” targeting Iroquois for an overhaul that could oust the principal and much of its staff. (Courier-Journal)

Fayette schools class to help students avoid college math remediation - Course will help grads avoid remedial college classes: Starting in the 2011-12 school year, Fayette County Public Schools will offer a college math prep class designed to help high school seniors avoid expensive, non-credit remedial classes when they enroll in Kentucky colleges.
The University of Kentucky Math Department is helping the Fayette schools structure the yearlong course, which will be aimed at seniors who have not achieved a benchmark math score on the ACT. (Herald-Leader)

Middlesboro schools accept challenge of compassion: Students from Middlesboro Middle and High School will participate in “Rachel’s Challenge,” which promotes creating a safe learning environment and improving academic achievement for the nation’s schools. The namesake of the program is the late Rachel Scott, the first victim of the Columbine High School Tragedy that happened in April of 1999, and ended with the murder of 13 students and the suicides of the two student gunmen.Read more: (The Middlesboro Daily News)

Summit Elementary receives Blue Ribbon award: Self-improvement is the goal. The award is just a bonus.Summit Elementary will for the second time receive a Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence Lighthouse Award, making it the first school to gain the distinction twice.The award, presented by Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence Inc., is not a prize or a trophy and the school doesn’t profit from it, said principal Tamela Martin. Rather, “it’s a school improvement process we used to see where we could improve,” Martin said. (The Daily Independent)

Rally rewards top test scorers: A pep rally honored top scorers in the classroom instead of the field. Conner High School held an academic pep rally for students who scored well on testing. The Hebron school has students take a practice ACT exam twice a year to help them prepare for the test setting and to know what's coming when they take the real thing. Teachers and administrators wanted a way to show students working hard was worth the effort, said Assistant Principal Mary Sargent. (Enquirer)

Student jailed for 'profanity,' disobedience: An Elizabethtown teen was jailed Tuesday morning after Vine Grove police charged the Brown Street Education Center student with three misdemeanors.According to jail and court records, 18-year-old Netra Summer Lewis was arrested for “using profanity” toward police officers and a teacher, and refusing “to follow the direction of school officials.”Lewis was charged with disorderly conduct, abuse of a teacher and resisting arrest. The three Class A misdemeanors are punishable by up to 12 months in jail and up to a $5,000 fine, under Kentucky law. (News Enterprise)

Prefiled bill addresses unfunded mandates - Educators favor state giving money with laws it wants enforced: One piece of legislation state lawmakers might consider when the Kentucky General Assembly reconvenes in January calls for a halt to unfunded state mandates.The bill, which was prefiled earlier this fall by Rep. Sal Santoro, R-Florence, states, “It is the intention of the General Assembly that no mandate be placed on the public schools of the commonwealth without provision by the General Assembly for funding assured by the state-supported program that is adequate to carry out that mandate.” (Glasgow Daily Times)

Error, election leave Kenton school board seat open: A paperwork error has opened a seat on the Kenton County School District's board of education. Applications for the seat in District 3, which covers Taylor Mill and Edgewood, will be accepted until Dec. 7 by the Kentucky Department of Education. Someone will be appointed, likely in the next few weeks, by Terry Holliday, the state's education commissioner. Becky Melching, who won the seat four years ago and will continue to hold it through the end of this calendar year, filed for re-election before the deadline in August. However, she accidentally marked on the paperwork that she was filing to run in District 4. She lives in District 3. (Enquirer)

Veterinary clinic to offer high school classes at new Fayette agriscience farm - High schoolers to get hands-on agricultural, veterinary experience: Fayette County Public Schools officials are finalizing plans for a non-profit veterinary clinic — where high school students could get hands-on experience working in veterinary science — that will be located at the school district's new Locust Trace Agriscience Farm. In addition to training students, a non-profit clinic also would offer veterinary services for farms and residents around Leestown Road, where Locust Trace will be located. (Herald-Leader)

Education fuels economy: An emphasis on education led to the United States’ phenomenal economic growth in the past, according to Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education President Robert L. King. He thinks it’s time for education to again be a top priority. “This is truly, I think, the biggest issue facing our country,” King said. He spoke during a luncheon Tuesday at Trover Tower that was part of a daylong visit to Madisonville Community College. About 30 people, mostly educators and public officials, attended the gathering. (Messenger at KSBA)