Mountjoy: KET Programs that Promote literacy and Graduation Threatened

This from Tony McVeigh at WFPL:

KET Facing Staff, Program Reductions

Kentucky Educational Television is taking a major hit under Governor Steve Beshear’s budget-balancing plan.

Education Secretary Helen Mountjoy says KET is a member of the 18 percent club, meaning its budget has already been cut 18-percent this calendar year. Now it’s facing another four-percent cut.

“They’re probably going to have to discontinue the KET ED program, which is a whole series of programs that go directly into classrooms and are used all over the commonwealth,” Mountjoy said.

KET has already reduced its staff by 34 percent, and eight more layoffs may be coming.

Another member of the 18 percent club is the Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives, which supports local libraries, and is a treasure trove of state documents.

Mountjoy warns that if new revenue is not found soon, the agency may have to cease operations.

Kentucky Schools Tap Streaming Educational Television

This from T.H.E. Journal:

Kentucky Educational Television (KET) recently extended its agreement with Discovery Education to provide all public schools in the state with Discovery Education streaming. KET delivers this content through its KET EncycloMedia service.

KET is a statewide public television service that provides standards-aligned preK-12 educational resources to schools. According to KET, these resources are presently used by 97 percent of Kentucky public schools. EncycloMedia is a partnership between KET and the Kentucky Department of Education that provides more than 5,000 full-length videos, 50,000 video clips, and "thousands of digital images, all searchable by keyword, content area, grade level, and Kentucky academic standards." ...

KDE goes to the Cable, Web TV

KENTUCKY EDUCATION ISSUES AVAILABLE ON WEB

(FRANKFORT, Ky.) – Kentucky Education Issues, a television program hosted by Education Commissioner Jon E. Draud, is now available on the Kentucky Department of Education’s Web site.

To access the program, visit the KDE Web site at http://www.education.ky.gov and click on the link under “Headlines.”

The half-hour program features lively discussion with leading educators and policy makers concerning topics important to students, teachers and taxpayers. Plans are to produce two programs each month.

Program #1 features interviews with KDE Associate Commissioner Robin Kinney and Division Director Petie Day. The show’s theme is the state budget.

Kentucky Education Issues is produced by KDE’s Virtual Learning Branch primarily for Insight Cable in northern Kentucky and its affiliates throughout the state. The program also will air on the Kentucky Channel (KET3).

Check local listings for specific times and availabilities.

Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center Conference 2007

Making Money Matter:

Maximizing Student Achievement

with Our Investments in Education

In any discussion of wise investments for Kentucky’s future, increasing spending on education is at the top of many policymakers’ priority lists. But how exactly should education funds be targeted in order to have the greatest impact? What specific expenditures will best help boost students’ academic achievement?

The Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center attempted to answer these questions and more at their recent conference. Now, thanks to KET, you can attend anytime (except real time) via the web.

Conference Sessions

Welcome/Setting the Context (24:58)

Brad Cowgill, President, Council on Postsecondary Education; Chair, Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center
Dr. Bob Sexton, Executive Director, Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence
David Adkisson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kentucky Chamber of Commerce

The Dynamic Global Labor Market (57:03)

Dr. Marc Tucker, President and CEO, National Center on Education and the Economy

Educational Progress in Kentucky (29:30)

Dr. Amy Watts, Policy Analyst, Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center

The Effects and Cost-Effectiveness of Educational Investments (41:50)

Michael T. Childress, Executive Director, Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center

2007 Hellard Award/Keynote Address (49:53)

Hellard Award recipient: John R. Hall, civic leader, philanthropist, and former CEO of Ashland Inc.
Keynote address: Doug Mesecar, Acting Assistant Secretary for Planning Evaluation and Policy Development, U.S. Department of Education

Early Childhood Development (46:10)

Dr. M. Rebecca Kilburn, RAND
Rick Hulefeld, Children Inc.
Dr. Kim Townley, University of Kentucky

The Achievement Gap (48:37)

Ross Wiener, The Education Trust
Claude W. Christian, Kentucky Department of Education
Stu Silberman, Superintendent, Fayette County Schools

Teacher Compensation (52:20)

Dr. Patrick J. Schuermann, Vanderbilt University
Mary Ann Blankenship, Kentucky Education Association
Dr. Allyson Hughes Handley, Council on Postsecondary Education

Wrap-Up (5:01)

KET Nets $80,000 in pledges for A History of Northern Kentucky

Sunday night Kentucky Educational Television received $80,000 in pledges when it debuted its landmark documentary "Where the River Bends: A History of Northern Kentucky."

The program goes down as the top pledge-producing locally-made documentary in the history of KET, said officials at the Lexington-based public TV network.

"We've had probably more mail and phone calls about this show than we have had on any show in a while," said Craig Cornwell, KET program director.

The documentary repeats at 7 p.m. tonight on KET2. And the network has just rescheduled a third airing set again for KET1 at 7 p.m. Sunday.

See the complete story from the Kentucky Post.