New education commissioner unknown quantity, but hoping for the best

This from the Daily Independent:

As it now stands, Stephen L. Pruitt is little known by either the elected or appointed leaders or public school superintendents, administrators or teachers in Kentucky. That will soon change.
The Kentucky Board of Education Tuesday officially named the 47-year-old Pruitt Kentucky’s sixth Commissioner of Education, automatically making him the most powerful and highest-paid individual in elementary and high school education in the state.

Stephen L. Pruitt

Among other things, the landmark Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990 replaced the old elected constitutional office of state superintendent of public schools with a commissioner of education who is appointed by the unelected Kentucky Board of Education. The commissioner can serve for as long as he has the support of a majority of state school board members.

Pruitt succeeds the retiring Terry Holliday, who served for six years before retiring in August. Pruitt will assume his new duties on Oct. 16. Kevin Brown will continue as interim commissioner.
Pruitt’s background is a bit different from the previous five education commissioners because he does not immediately come from a position in public education. Instead, the new education commissioner comes to Kentucky after serving for two years as senior vice president of an independent, non-profit education reform agency, Achieve Inc. However, he previously served as a public school leader when he was associate state superintendent for the Georgia Department of Education.

Pruitt was one of two finalists to succeed Holliday, who retired after six years. When the other finalist, Christopher Koch, withdrew his name, Pruitt became the favorite something by default. However, he had no trouble in winning the unanimous and enthusiastic support of state school board members.

While we know little about the new commissioner and his style of leadership, Stephen Pruitt does have the advantage of succeeding a commissioner who we think has been among the best of the state’s appointed education commissioners. Terry Holliday has been a strong and effective advocate for quality schools in Kentucky who has resisted political pressure to back away from Kentucky’s support of the high national standards for public schools. Holliday recognized that i[n] Kentucky students are to be able to compete with the best schools in the country for the good-paying jobs of tomorrow they must be able to receive an education that is second to none. Sure, that means more is being expected from Kentucky’s public schools and they must rise to the higher standards. Terry Holliday knew that. Unfortunately, not every leader in this state agrees with those high standards.

Pruitt’s contract provides for an annual salary of $240,000 over the next four years, a bit more than the $225,000 Holliday made. But to his credit, Holliday declined some scheduled pay increases during his as commissioner because of stagnant funding for public education.

At Achieve Inc., the new commissioner participated in the development of the Next Generation Science Standards, which Kentucky has adopted. As a result, Pruitt already has worked with Kentucky Department of Education staff on the implementation of the standards in Kentucky. Thus, he is not a complete stranger in Frankfort. In fact, he already has earned the respect of some of those he soon will be supervising.

Pruitt has previously indicated he anticipated no sudden or dramatic changes as he takes over from Holliday, saying he’d take time to get acquainted with staff and Kentucky schools, but he promised to support students and school districts.

We do not know enough about the new commissioner to pass judgment on his appointment. However, because the position is so important to quality education in Kentucky’s public schools,  Stephen I. Pruitt begins his new job on Oct. 15 with our full support and we hope he proves worthy of that support.

JCPS Board Member Finds Truth in Hensley's Resignation

This from the Courier-Journal:

[Jefferson County Board of Education] member Linda Duncan said Thursday she was shaken by [the resignation of JCPS Chief Academic Officer Dewey Hensley].

Linda Duncan

"The letter was painful for me to read, because I know it's true," Duncan said. She has long heard stories from JCPS employees about a top-down culture, low morale and a lack of trust, she said.

"You have people all over the district who are celebrating the truth," Duncan said. She said Hensley played a key role in JCPS and said she was disturbed that somebody who was still in the middle of his career felt he had no choice but to resign.

Duncan said Hensley's resignation is just "one more issue" that is making her question management issues, and that she plans to bring it up during a Monday discussion among the board members about Hargens' formative evaluation.

"I look around and see all these holes of positions not filled and that does not make me feel good," Duncan said. "I see all this experience leaving the district, and that does not make me feel good."

Hensley's resignation means Hargens' seven-member cabinet is less than half-filled.

Delivering Proficiency?

Close achievement gaps and clarify the state's puzzling accountability measures. That's the job for newbie Ed Commissioner Stephen Pruitt, according to the Herald-Leader.

The problem is that the same legislature that said Kentucky schools must teach all children well - cut school funding for about 6 years. That's one full rotation of students through every K-5 school in the state.

Still, the rhetoric is that the schools must "deliver" proficiency. It is the kind of thinking that assumes legislated goals alone will give schools enough heft that the effects of poverty can be overcome and that the ever-present inequities in student achievement will be magically swept away. It is the kind of thinking that allows public school supporters and critics alike to blame schools for things beyond their control.

H-L notes one area of significant change, however. It is the swiftness with which Fayette County Schools got on board with the rest of the state in inflating Program Review scores - enough to cover up known deficiencies in other areas.

Did Kentucky high schools really deliver proficiency? Or did affluent parents deliver a sufficient number of privileged kids to all the usual places? Year after year, the same schools seem to jockey for positions at the top of the accountability system, while a group of usual suspects languish at or near the bottom. Bright spots appear in communities that value and support better schools. They twinkle and fade over time.

I don't oppose the paper's wish for equity in student achievement results. It is the right motivation. But magical thinking won't get us the results we seek. Closing achievement gaps requires a broad set of in-school and out-of-school solutions, and the only group in Kentucky that can "deliver" them is the legislature. That possibility hinges on a new tax code and a dedication to social equity that seems to be missing in Frankfort.

This from the Herald-Leader:

Ky.'s new education commissioner 

must reignite sense of urgency about teaching all kids

Kentucky's new Education Commissioner Stephen L. Pruitt should move quickly to reignite a sense of urgency about teaching all youngsters well.

The latest round of test scores and accountability measures, released last week, were not particularly good news, though we admit the welter of data that now makes up Kentucky's school accountability system usually leaves us more befuddled than enlightened. (Maybe it's just us, but we doubt that we are alone in our puzzlement.)

A few things did stand out:

■ The annual improvement goals are painfully modest, yet fewer schools achieved their goals in 2014-15 than in the previous year.
■ The overall score for high schools rose 1.5 points from the previous year, but the overall scores for elementary and middle schools declined 1.4 points and 2.1 points respectively.
■ Students in groups that have historically had achievement gaps — minorities, low income and those with disabilities or limited English proficiency — continue to lag behind their peers across multiple content areas and grade levels.

Analyzing the achievement gaps, Susan Weston, reporting on the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence's blog, found that Kentucky's high schools delivered academic proficiency for the students they serve best, those outside gap groups, at more than twice the rate that they delivered proficiency for black students, more than four times the rate for students with disabilities and more than six times the rate for students with limited English skills.

Thirteen years ago, Kentucky lawmakers shone a bright light on student groups trapped in perpetual underachievement. The legislature enacted a requirement that the Department of Education scrutinize and approve improvement plans for schools that twice miss targets for narrowing achievement gaps. That law and the scrutiny seem to have been forgotten.

Under the current accountability system, now in its third year, the scores schools give themselves for programs in which students no longer take state tests, such as the arts and writing, count as much or more than schools' success in teaching students in the gap groups.

The consequences of such incentives are hardly surprising: Schools are quickly moving toward giving themselves perfect program-review scores; it's as if the teacher handed out the test key and told students to grade their own exams. Meanwhile, the system that's supposed to hold schools accountable isn't delivering enough pressure to improve teaching for students in gap groups.

Anything that Pruitt and the state school board that finalized his contract Tuesday can do to push schools to close achievement gaps would be a great service to Kentucky's future. Likewise, for making the accountability system less convoluted.

The new data also provide some bright spots. The percent of high school graduates who tested ready for college or careers has risen from 47.2 in 2012, the first year for this measure, to 66.8 percent in 2015. (That's still about a third of graduates who leave with a diploma but under-prepared for the next phase of their lives.)

The number of districts and schools performing at the highest level is up.

And, as always, some schools in poor places are performing at high levels, debunking the notion that low-income kids can't be taught.

Kentucky can be proud that it has not dumbed down its testing to create an illusion of improvement as some states have.

And, in Lexington, Williams Wells Brown Elementary, branded last year as the state's lowest-performing elementary school, achieved a 19.2 point gain on a 100-point scale and was rated a "high progress" school.

Congratulations to all the students and educators who are working hard to do better.

Hensley Slams Hargens in Resignation from JCPS

Attention Fayette County: 

Capable district school administrator has just become available

In a rare display of professional integrity, JCPS chief academic officer resigns, 

blasts leaders for "pseudo-innovation, noise of indecision" 

Former KDE associate commissioner claims he's been made scapegoat by critics

This from the Courier-Journal:

Dewey Hensley, the chief academic officer for Jefferson County Public Schools, has abruptly submitted his letter of resignation, leaving another hole in Superintendent Donna Hargens' already decimated cabinet.

Hensley's last day will be Friday, JCPS spokeswoman Bonnie Hackbarth confirmed.

In his resignation letter, Hensley said working conditions at JCPS have "not been very enriching."

"It has been a time of marginalized voices, eroded credibility, and a great deal of time devoted less to developing quality schools for children and more about managing perceptions for adults," he wrote in the letter addressed to Hargens and board chairman David Jones Jr.

He said "perhaps the most beneficial time" in JCPS was when "the cabinet worked to reorganize the district so 'children and classrooms were at the center of the universe,'" but said that since then, "it has been a challenge to be heard above the 'noise' of indecision, the circling buzz of perception, and the hammer strikes to fabricate an image."

His resignation letter attacked what he called "pseudo-innovation," and said his team was often left to take the brunt of criticisms.

"It is clear I am expected to be accountable for results, but secondary in the inputs," he wrote. "This makes me a scapegoat, not by chance, but by design."

He wishes Hargens and Jones luck, adding that "I am certain with the changes in assessment and accountability you seek, JCPS will be able to communicate progress. I hope the children get what they need in the process."

Hensley has not returned calls to his cell phone Wednesday night or Thursday morning.

Hargens is already on the hunt for people to fill the open chief communications and community relations and chief of data management positions, as well as someone to fill the new chief business officer position, which she created months ago.

Hensley's resignation means Hargens' seven-member cabinet is less than half-filled.

"I was saddened to learn from Dewey of his decision to resign as Chief Academic Officer of JCPS, effective Oct. 9," Hargens said in a statement released Thursday morning. "Dewey has been an unwavering champion for the success of all students, including those who are excelling, those who are struggling, and those who have yet to discover their passion. I will miss his honest counsel and fierce determination."

Hensley has expressed frustration in recent weeks, including in a "3-page white paper" he sent to school board members late last month. That paper talked about attacks to the "cocoon of change" he and his team had put around efforts to revamp JCPS' alternative schools system.

The "white paper," which also included additional pages of his own thoughts at the end, was sent following a concern from board member Chris Brady that Hensley's alternative schools revamp wasn't completely thought out. Brady sent the email Sept. 17 asking for an update about the reorganization of the alternative schools after he'd received a message from a concerned teacher at Liberty High.

Hensley's "white paper" and accompanying note charges that many JCPS schools don't want to deal with the most challenging students and that the current system gives students with emotional behavioral disabilities "no home."

While the white paper laid out some suggestions for changes, such as creating permanent units in several schools for students with emotional behavioral disabilities, Hensley also spent a significant amount of time in the document talking about teacher pushback against change and calling out how the alternative schools have long been run, charging that "in the past these schools were run by people" whom JCPS allowed to serve as "benevolent dictators."

"It is amazing how many people in our alternative schools are connected to each other," Hensley wrote, "in some cases in ways that even the least cynical of us would have to raise their eyebrow and question."

A JCPS spokeswoman recently said that Hensley's Success Pathways approach to the alternative schools system is a "process" to "really create a culture change" and that changes can't happen overnight.

Hensley has been with JCPS off and on for decades and has been chief academic officer since February 2012. He is making more than $163,000 a year.

Before becoming chief academic officer, he was an associate commissioner with the Kentucky Department of Education, having been tapped by the state after he helped turn around JCPS’ economically challenged Atkinson Elementary in his five years as principal there.

Hensley arrived in Jefferson County in 2003 and was principal of Bates Elementary before he went to Atkinson.

In his time as JCPS chief academic officer, Hensley helped the state’s largest school district as it tried to turn around persistently low-achieving schools and implemented new state-mandated tests aligned to the Common Core.

He pushed for a third-grade reading pledge to have all JCPS students reading on grade level by the end third grade.

And one of his catchphrases, “more effective instruction in more classrooms more of the time,” has become an oft-repeated phrase within the district whenever discussions about progress come up.

JCPS Academic Officer resignation letter

Mr. David Jones and Dr. Donna Hargens

Jefferson County Public Schools Board of Education

3332 Newburg Road

Louisville KY 40218

Dear Mr. Jones and Dr. Hargens,

After a great deal of careful consideration and reflection, I have decided to resign from my post as the Chief Academic Officer of Jefferson County Public Schools.

First, I am very proud of the roles I have played in Jefferson County Public Schools. In each role I did my absolute best to help the children and families of our community and I have worked with alented teachers and leaders who taught me much about teaching and leading. Perhaps the most beneficial time was the year when the cabinet worked to reorganize the district so “children and classrooms were at the center of the universe.”

Nonetheless, since those first bold steps of reorganization, the factors surrounding the "working conditions" (yes, those actually apply to all employees, not just JCTA members) have not been very enriching. It has been a time of marginalized voices, eroded credibility, and a great deal of time devoted less to developing quality schools for children and more about managing perceptions for adults. I have rarely left any leadership meeting without a boulder-sized sense of frustration regarding our lack of focus, our emphasis on perception above reality, and the lacking sense of urgency around achievement.

After that first year of my tenure it has been a challenge to be heard above the "noise" of indecision, the circling buzz of perception, and the hammer strikes to fabricate an image. I have attempted to raise my voice regarding the lack of congruency between our strategic plan and our actions; our focus on perception and pseudo-innovation (as opposed to real innovation) and lack of investment in our students from poverty by the superintendent, my team did so, only to be left to take the full brunt of the "adult-centered pushback." Often “credit” weighed much more than “credibility” in our work.

This empowered those with the least accountability and the least experience while silencing many whose lives are focused on this work and who are most accountable for results. Obviously, it is not wise for a person, no matter how willing he or she is to accept accountability, to have the responsibility to do something, but none of the decision making capital.

After an exchange with Dr. Hargens and Diane Porter and another exchange with Public Relations and Dr. Hargens this week, it is clear I am expected to be accountable for results, but secondary in the inputs—this makes me a scapegoat, not by chance, but by design. For some, a large salary makes that an acceptable arrangement—and for some like me, will do it if it adds value to the greater good and the cause.

However, it seems much more based on perception and ideological stances rather than the cause. Mywork has always been done not for the superintendent or for the board; it is for kids and families. I don’t mean this in the “it’s about the kids” rhetoric of some, but rather in measurable results, which,as we found out this year, can’t be achieved without real focus and time.

I wish both of you all the luck in getting what you want--I am certain with the changes in

assessments and accountability you seek, JCPS will be able to communicate progress. I hope thechildren get what they need in the process.

Leadership isn’t seeing where everyone is going and jumping to the front of the line. It is about rising above the “human politic” to create the “future stories” children need.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve in this role. I am requesting my resignation be effective on Friday, October 9, 2015 at 5:00 P.M. I have great confidence my team will be able to meet your needs in my absence.

Sincerely,

Dewey Hensley

Signed. Sealed. Hired.

Pruitt excited by Kentuckians’ commitment to education, 

pledges daily focus on making a difference in the lives of children 

This from KSBA:

The Kentucky Board of Education unanimously ratified a contract Tuesday morning making Dr. Stephen Pruitt the state’s chief administrator for elementary and secondary education. The action came during the state board’s October meeting.

“I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am to be a Kentuckian," said Pruitt, a former  teacher and state agency official in Georgia, and most recently an executive with a Washington, D.C. education standards organization. "I really want to create what we call in Washington Kentucky fatigue. I want everybody on the planet talking about what’s going on in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

"You’ll hear me talk about shareholders, not stakeholders. The technical definition of a stakeholder is the person who holds the stake and has the chance to get hammered if the guy swings wrong.  I’d rather have shareholders that are invested, that care, that are working together to make a better place," he said.

Under the four-year contract, Pruitt will be paid $240,000 a year, plus benefits. He will be on the job on Friday, Oct. 16, which is the start of the next standard pay period for Kentucky state workers.

Thursday evening, Pruitt , his wife, Cecilia, and daughter, Abby, attended a reception of education leaders sponsored by the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence at the offices of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.

“I can’t begin to say how excited I am,” he said. “I’ve never applied to be a commissioner. In fact, on the Saturday of the last interview, my wife and I were driving away, and she said, ‘This wasn’t really in the plan, was it?’ And I said, ‘No , it really wasn’t.’ I’m eager for the opportunity to work in a state that has shown such commitment and dedication to its kids – because at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about.”

Pruitt pledged that focus will continue once he’s on the job.

“At KDE, we’re always going to start the day thinking about how we’re going to make a difference in the life of a child. I will have the face of a child in front of me every time we have to make a big decision,” he said.

With many education agency representatives and education co-op executives in the audience, Pruitt outlined a “collaborative” leadership style.

“I don’t have a problem having to use the power of the office, but I would much rather pull with you than being the one out front,” he said. “We’re going to do this together, because if we don’t, we’re going to spend four years spinning our wheels. I don’t have a whole lot of patience. When I want things to go, I want them to go, but I want them to go together.”

Pruitt said his wife and daughter will move to Kentucky after the fall semester of school in Bethesda, Md. Where they will call home isn’t set yet, but Pruitt said his daughter will be enrolled in the spring semester in a Kentucky public high school. The Pruitts also have a son who is in college at the University of Colorado.

JCPS rise in state rankings not all it seems

“If percentile ranks were used to determine proficiency and recalculated each year, then there would always be 70 percent of schools classified as ‘(needs) improvement’ and this method would not consider how much a school or district improved.” 

---Dena Dossett, JCPS’ planning and program evaluation director.

This from the Courier-Journal:

When Donna Hargens, superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools, wants to illustrate how the state’s largest school district is “moving and improving,” she tends to reach for one statistic in particular:

Donna Hargens

“We’ve risen from the ninth percentile to the 51st,” Hargens said during a GLI event in May. She used nearly the same words during a Louisville Forum event last year, as well as at several community conversations and school board meetings.

And that fact is true. In 2011, the state ranked JCPS as being in the ninth percentile of all school districts in Kentucky, making it one of the lowest-performing in terms of state accountability measurements. In 2014, the state announced that JCPS had risen to the 51st percentile.

But those numbers may be misleading to those who don’t understand how the Kentucky Department of Education calculates scores, in particular because what the state has been calculating in recent years is not truly a percentile rank.

In fact, if you ranked districts in 2013-2014 based on their accountability scores, JCPS was only in the 27th percentile last school year, not the 51st.

The difference in numbers is due to an intricacy in the state's calculations.

“It’s disappointing that something that seemed so (easy to reference) doesn’t mean what it means in plain English,” said David Jones Jr., JCPS’ board chairman. He said he has often used the percentile rankings as “shorthand” to try to explain JCPS’ progress, saying he didn’t realize until after talking with a Courier-Journal reporter exactly how the percentile rankings were calculated.

To be sure, JCPS has improved over the years. Last year, 96 of its schools met or exceeded yearly progress goals set by the state — 20 more than did so the year before. The district also has increased the percentage of students who are college and career ready, and its graduation rate rose last school year.

But other districts have made progress at the same time, meaning JCPS has not moved up through the district ranks as their percentile scores would suggest.

So as the state prepares to release the latest round of test scores and accountability data Oct. 1, here’s a rundown of what percentile ranks of schools and districts really means.

The basic gist is this: to allow school districts to show improvement, the state periodically “locks” schools’ and districts’ scores to a prior-year percentile, meaning that more recent “percentile rankings” are not true comparisons of how well one school district did compared to others.

Here’s how it works: schools and districts get an overall score based on a number of factors, such as graduation rates, test scores, the growth of different groups of students and college and career readiness.

In 2011-2012, schools and districts were ranked using those overall scores.

But the next year, the state placed the new overall scores that schools and districts received on the prior year’s percentile ranking scale.

For instance, in 2011-2012, a score of 58.4 put districts in the 71st percentile. In 2012-2013, districts who scored 58.4 were labeled in the 71st percentile, even though a score of 58.4 in 2012-2013 only put a school district about halfway through the pack instead of better than 70 percent of other districts.

It gets a bit trickier after that.

After the 2012-2013 results were released, the state added more components that it knew would be part of the 2013-2014 accountability system, creating a new overall score for 2012-2013 and resetting the percentile ranking.

When the 2013-2014 scores came out, they were tied back to that new percentile ranking.

Now, the state will go through the same process again with the 2014-2015 scores.

Confused? You’re not alone.

Some educators and others have lamented the percentile rankings as convoluted and confusing for parents and others.

Confusion abounds

Even some district administrators struggle when trying to accurately explain the percentile rankings.

"The percentile rank and growth have become so complex even people like me struggle to explain it to parents and community groups," said Dewey Hensley, JCPS' chief academic officer. "Hopefully the state will address the complexity and ensure our accountability system communicates clearly and fairly the progress districts make in this multi-layered system."

Indeed, Hensley last week mentioned that JCPS had moved to the 51st percentile during a meeting with the Louisville chapter of the NAACP. Hargens, who was sitting with him at the meeting, attempted to clarify the meaning of the percentile ranking, saying that  “the percentile rank is locked. … Our kids are progressing, but our state has locked the percentiles.”

She didn’t explain what it meant to lock a percentile, and no one in the room asked.

Hargens later said the statistic about JCPS’ percentile rankings is “never intended to be the whole picture,” saying that understanding where schools and students are requires looking at a number of data points. “The more you try to make one number describe the whole picture, the more you lose."

She said she tries to be honest with the community, showing other data points and noting that while JCPS is improving, “we’re still climbing the mountain.”

“We’re working to make progress every day,” she said. “Our schools are working to make progress every day. When they do, we recognize that and when they don’t, we recognize that, as well. Behind every data point is the heartbeat of a kid. … That’s that part people need to understand, the big picture.”

The reason the state does these convoluted calculations has to do with the way Kentucky’s accountability system is set up to rely on percentile rankings to categorize performance.

Under the state’s accountability system, schools in the 90th percentile or higher are considered “distinguished,” while those in the 70th percentile or higher are “proficient.” Any school or district below the 70th percentile is classified as “needs improvement.”

“If percentile ranks were used to determine proficiency and recalculated each year, then there would always be 70 percent of schools classified as ‘(needs) improvement’ and this method would not consider how much a school or district improved,” said Dena Dossett, JCPS’ planning and program evaluation director.

“This model gives schools a set standard to use as a goal, rather than setting a goal based on a relative ranking that would change yearly.”

But the bottom line is that schools’ and districts’ percentile rankings are not exactly what they seem.

In 2012-2013, JCPS was listed as being in the 32nd percentile, when actually it was only in the 14th percentile. In 2013-2014, its rank of 51st belied the fact that it was actually in the 27th percentile of school districts in the state for its score.

And JCPS is of course not alone; many districts and schools’ rankings are affected by the way the state calculates the percentiles.

For instance, Bullitt County Public Schools was ranked in the 75th percentile in the 2013-2014 school year. But a comparison of district scores showed that Bullitt was only actually in the 50th percentile.

Jan Stone, Bullitt’s director of assessment, data and research, said her superintendent asks her every year when test scores and accountability results come out to calculate where Bullitt stands on a true ranking of the state’s school districts.

“I’m not sure people generally understand what that overall score means because it’s so complex,” Stone said. “It’s my job to understand it, but when I talk to teachers and others, I ask, do you really understand what your overall score means?”

Changes sought

Some district testing administrators and others have been suggesting changes, saying that the “percentile ranking” calculation is difficult for the average parent and consumer to understand.

“If it takes me more than five minutes to explain the metrics, maybe it’s too hard,” said Jennifer Davis, director of elementary and secondary programs with Bowling Green City Schools. She noted that part of the point of an accountability system is for people to understand how well their school or district is performing.

“The system … is so complex that a lot of people outside of education don’t understand it,” Davis said. She said many people know what a percentile should mean, so they often turn to that number as an easy way to understand where a school or district stands.

She suggested the state use overall scores to determine schools’ and districts’ classifications and “eliminate the percentile ranking altogether.”

“We are all calling it a percentile, and the state (is), too. In actuality, it isn’t a percentile,” she said.

When the 2014-2015 score results are released next week, Kentucky parents will again see the percentile rankings.

They will be locked back to recalculated 2012-2013 rankings that will take into account a number of changes in the 2014-2015 accountability system, including the fact that the state is not counting elementary and middle school science scores this year and is adding new program reviews.

But Rebecca Blessing, spokeswoman for the Kentucky Department of Education, recently announced that this year, for the first time, the state will release a ranking of schools and districts based on current-year data, as well as the locked calculation because it can be so tricky.

“We hope that will provide some clarity and some transparency,” said Rhonda Sims, an associate commissioner with the Kentucky Department of Education. She noted that the state will also add a footnote about the percentile rankings explaining the way the scores are locked.

Sims added that the state is open to hearing ideas on how to improve upon the accountability system, noting the state's new education commissioner, who is expected to be Stephen Pruitt, may have a different take.

But in the meantime, some remain frustrated.

“I have yet to talk to anyone who says, ‘We’re so glad to talk about percentiles,’” Davis said.

What is a percentile ranking?

Percentiles are used to rank a group of things in comparison to each other. Percentiles are used on a scale of 100, regardless of how many things are in the ranking. For instance, if a group of 12 students took a test, and one student did better than 92 percent of her classmates on the test, she would be in the 92nd percentile. If a 6-year-old boy weighs more than 80 percent of other boys his age nationwide, he would be in the 80th percentile.

How the state calculated its percentile rankings, by year:

2011-2012: The state used schools' overall scores to rank them in order, giving them a true percentile ranking based on where they fell compared to each other.

2012-2013: The state took schools' overall scores, but instead of comparing schools to each other like it did the previous year, it compared schools' scores to where the scores would have fallen on the 2011-2012 ranking. For instance, in 2011-2012, a score of 58.4 put districts in the 71st percentile. In 2012-2013, districts who scored 58.4 were labeled in the 71st percentile, even though a score of 58.4 in 2012-2013 only put a school district about halfway through the pack instead of better than 70 percent of other districts. 

2013-2014: Recognizing that it had made a number of changes to its accountability system, including adding a new program reviews element, the state retroactively recalculated schools' and districts' 2012-2013 rankings to include the new components. Then, it took schools' overall scores for 2013-2014 and compared them to where they would have fallen on that recalculated 2012-2013 ranking.

2014-2015: The state said it will again compare schools' overall scores to 2012-2013 rankings, but that the 2012-2013 rankings will have again been recalculated to account for more changes in this year's accountability system.

Fixing state teacher retirement not easy

Consultant says current system out of money by 2052

This from the Richmond Register:

Members of a task force appointed by Gov. Steve Beshear to develop recommendations to shore up Kentucky’s teacher retirement system are fast learning it won’t be easy.

William B. “Flick” Fornia

The group’s consultant, William B. “Flick” Fornia of Pension Trust Advisors, ran through a number of potential options Friday but several of them met with concerned questions from members of the group.

Fornia showed the group several charts and scenarios, including one that if nothing is done the system will run out of money by 2054. Another indicated even with 5 percent benefit reductions for new teachers going forward, the system would gain only about eight years, likely going broke in 2062.

Fornia told the group that there’s little use in arguing about who is responsible for the problem. Teachers and retirees complain that lawmakers didn’t contribute the full annually required contribution or ARC while some lawmakers complain the problem was caused by disappointing investment earnings and liberal benefits.

According to Fornia, it was a combination of all of those.

To catch up on the ARC, the state would have to increase contributions by about 14 percent — assuming an investment return of 7.5 percent on earnings. Historically, the system has managed to do that and more, but in recent years during the economic slump returns fell well below that goal. Fornia’s calculations indicate the 14 percent shortfall translates into about $500 million each year.

Beshear appointed the group this summer after the General Assembly was unable to come up with a plan acceptable to both the Democratically controlled House and Republican controlled Senate. The House wanted to issue bonds of $3.3 billion to “buy time” for the fund which is now having to sell assets to pay current benefits, buying time for legislature to increase the ARC over time. The theory was the money could be borrowed a lower rates than the pension fund could earn by investing it.

But the Republican Senate said it wasn’t logical to borrow money to pay down debt and sought structural changes — essentially a change in benefits and costs to employees, probably involving moving newly hired teachers to some sort of 401-K type plan. Toward the end of the session, a conference committee discussed a combination of the proposals but reached no agreement.

The task force is to issue recommendations by the end of the year, in time for lawmakers to address the problem in the 2016 General Assembly which convenes in March.

After first hearing from various constituent groups, the task force met Friday to consider options — not to argue about solutions though there was a little debate between those who want to preserve benefits for teachers and those who believe the current system is “unsustainable.”

There are limitations on what reductions can be made because of an “inviolable contract” with employees which guarantees certain benefits to current retirees and employees. Basically reductions would be limited to minor changes such as reducing or eliminating cost of living adjustments, increasing retirement ages, and ending the use of unused sick time to calculate benefits.

Fornia said there aren’t any easy stand-alone solutions. He said pension obligation bonds can be helpful — if they are combined with contribution increases and possibly with benefit reductions.

But he warned the group that an incomplete solution — just pushing the final reckoning out in the future — is ultimately more costly and said he wanted to get them to fully funded levels as quickly as practical.

One way to do that would be a combination of 10 percent contribution increases, phased in over 10 years while extending an existing special 2.7 percent assessment, a 3 percent benefit reduction for new hires and a 1 percent benefit reduction for current members.

Assuming an average 7.5 percent return on investments, Fornia calculated the system could be fully funded by the year 2044 using such an approach.

The group will meet again on Oct. 16 to start hammering out which solutions it will recommend.

Malignant tumor removed during Fayette school superintendent's 18-hour sinus surgery

Praise for UK Med 

This from the Herald-Leader;

Fayette County Public Schools Superintendent Manny Caulk underwent an 18-hour surgery last week to remove a malignant tumor from his sinus cavity, school officials said Monday.

Caulk, who became superintendent over the summer, said in a statement that "the good news is that doctors were able to remove the entire tumor. and I will make a full recovery."

School board chairman John Price, who has remained on the board while being treated for leukemia for the past two years, said Caulk had the full backing of the board.

"We knew from our very first interview with Manny that he was the right person to lead our district," Price said. "His spark, his drive and his passion remain strong. and we are thrilled that he is willing to work during his treatments."

Since moving to Lexington in August, Caulk had struggled with severe allergy problems, which led him to see several specialists.

He announced two weeks ago that he was undergoing sinus surgery.

"Had I not been offered the wonderful opportunity to become the superintendent of the Fayette County Public Schools, my allergies wouldn't have flared up, and we might not have found the tumor in time for such an excellent outcome," he said in a news release.

"I didn't want to cause a distraction from our important work while waiting for my prognosis," Caulk said. "Nothing is more important to me than doing what's best for our students here in Fayette County. The good news is that doctors were able to remove the entire tumor, and I will make a full recovery."

His recovery is expected to take weeks.

Caulk will remain on the job during his recovery, holding meetings via phone and Skype, and staying connected through email and text. He said he would schedule early morning medical treatments so he would be able to conduct the business of the school district throughout the workday, a news release said.

"Nothing will keep me from the important work facing our school district," Caulk said. "Nearly 41,000 children are counting on us to deliver a brighter tomorrow than they have today, and it will take every ounce of commitment and energy we have to make that happen."

In the news release, Caulk praised University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital, where he had the surgery, saying, "the men and women who work at the University of Kentucky Hospital are the best team."

Marlene Helm, who served as acting superintendent from January until last month, filled in for Caulk on Monday night at the regular school board meeting.

Caulk's letter to FCPS Families:

Dear FCPS Families:

Before I moved to Lexington, I thought that the best team at the University of Kentucky played on the hardwood at Rupp Arena. With utmost respect for Coach Cal and the Wildcats, I am now convinced that the men and women who work at the University of Kentucky hospital are the best team!

Thanks to them, my surgery last week was a success and I am making incredible progress each day.

Nothing is more important to me than doing what's best for our students here in Fayette County. I feel so strongly about keeping the focus on our students that as I headed into surgery I did want not to cause a distraction from our important work.

Now that I have all the facts, I want to share with you that during my 18-hour surgery last week, the doctors completely removed a malignant tumor from my sinuses. Had I not been offered the wonderful opportunity to become the superintendent of the Fayette County Public Schools, my allergies wouldn't have flared up, and we might not have found the tumor in time for such an excellent outcome. Tests have confirmed that there was no spread elsewhere in my body.

Truly, this has been a blessing in the Bluegrass. My wife Christol and my mother-in-law Mary have been by my side the entire time, and I expect to make a full recovery. I think I'm driving them a little crazy because I keep talking about work.

My progress has been steady and speedy and I will do my best to work during my treatments and stay involved in the daily operations of the school district. Thank you for all your well wishes, notes and prayers these past couple weeks. It is an honor to serve as your superintendent.

Every child deserves the very best our district can provide and nothing will stop us from delivering on that promise!

Your Partner,

Manny

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2015/09/28/4061518_malignant-tumor-removed-during.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy

New Kentucky education commissioner Stephen Pruitt 'can't wait' to get started

This from WDRB:

He's a third-generation educator who says he was initially in denial about what he says is his "true calling," but the passion Stephen Pruitt had for teaching children was just too strong to overcome.

On Wednesday, Pruitt, 47, will be named Kentucky's sixth education commissioner and will oversee the education of 675,000 students in Kentucky's public schools. He is expected to start on Oct. 16.

 "My grandmother was a teacher, my mother was a teacher and when I first went to college, I was sort of in denial," Pruitt told WDRB News in an interview. "I thought I would become an ophthalmologist, but the pull to teaching was just too strong. It’s all I could ever see myself really doing. It’s the greatest joy in the world."

The Kentucky Board of Education will meet at 2:30 p.m. to consider hiring a candidate to be the next commissioner of education and go into closed session to review and discuss the in-depth background check on the finalist, who they have previously identified Pruitt.

Following discussion about Pruitt's background check, the board will come back into open session and will consider a motion to authorize Kentucky Board of Education Chair Roger Marcum to make an offer of employment and negotiate the terms of employment with Pruitt.

"I am extremely excited about this opportunity – Kentucky has shown over the years a commitment to improving education for their children," Pruitt said. "For me, it’s the ultimate opportunity. The chance to serve Kentucky's students, teachers and parents is a dream job."

Pruitt is currently senior vice president at Achieve, Inc., an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit education reform organization, where he has served since 2010. He has previously been a chief of staff, associate state superintendent, director of academic standards, and science and mathematics program manager with the Georgia Department of Education.

"Up until this job, I had never before applied for another commissioner job," Pruitt said. "I never really had a desire to apply anywhere, but when I saw that Kentucky was looking for a new leader, it was a perfect fit for me."

During his time at Achieve, Pruitt led the development of the Next Generation Science Standards -- the new set of academic guidelines that teachers across Kentucky put into practice last year.

Much like the Common Core Standards in math and language arts – which have been adopted by 43 states -- the science standards describe what students need to know before they complete each grade level. To date, 14 other states, as well as Washington, D.C., have implemented the science standards.

Pruitt said the standards are “certainly a foundation for good science instruction," but it's just as important to give children "authentic experiences in science."

"Kids are natural-born scientists, we need to embrace that," he said.

In terms of the Common Core Standards, "Kentucky will follow the process (previous commissioner) Terry Holliday started.

"The standards have been in Kentucky for awhile now and the department has been going through a review process of the standards," he said. "We will listen to feedback that we have received."

According to the application letter and resumes submitted by Pruitt to the Florida firm charged with helping the state board with its search process, he talked about his extensive experience in working with students, teachers, parents and other stakeholders. The documents were obtained by WDRB News from the Kentucky Department of Education through an open records request.

"I spent twelve years as a high school science teacher," Pruitt wrote in his letter. "I believe the position of Commissioner of Education needs to have come from a firm foundation of having been a teacher. I am most proud of my time in the classroom."

Pruitt says he is a "strong believer in the power and necessity of communication."

"A quality communicator is able to create a clear message, but also able to listen to stakeholders affected by the issue at hand," he wrote. "I have had the opportunity in my roles in state government and in the private sector to lead large, successful programs or initiatives. They were successful in large part because I know the value of communicating a plan, but also listening to district leaders and teachers."

Pruitt tells WDRB News that he will "hit the ground running" on Oct. 16.

"I will be spending a lot of time listening," he said. "I plan to set up some advisory boards very soon after arriving. I want to talk to students, parents, teachers, principals and superintendents – and I want to meet with key legislators and gubernatorial candidates. I want to hear what has been going on and where they feel they are and what I can do to support them."

"I am a big believer that you just don’t come in and make arbitrary changes, you need to learn the current situation and then use the best available research and advice and then you make a decision," Pruitt said.

He adds that while he has a lot of things to learn about Kentucky's education system, "things like assessment and teacher evaluations and accountability are things I am going to have to get to know very quickly."

Pruitt said he will be visiting schools and communities across the commonwealth.

"Part of the role of commissioner – if they stay in Frankfort all the time, they can’t hear and see the needs of the districts," he said. "There is a balance I will have to strike between getting to know the agency and getting to know the districts. I can't wait to get started."

Tentative Start for Edu Commish Pruitt Oct 16, pending background check completion

Plans being made for public introduction Oct. 6 in Frankfort

This from KSBA:

If all goes as expected, Dr. Stephen L. Pruitt officially will begin using his new title - commissioner of education for the Commonwealth of Kentucky– on Friday, Oct. 16.

Kentucky Board of Education Chairman Roger Marcum told eNews Thursday in an email interview that he expects to call the state board into special session next week for the purpose of authorizing him to work out an employment contract with Pruitt. At this time, the meeting is tentatively set for Wednesday.

“I expect the background check to be complete very soon so the KBE can meet next week to formally vote on the selection of Dr. Pruitt and to authorize me to begin contract negotiations. Our timeline still calls for approval of that contract at the beginning of the Oct. 6 meeting. Dr. Pruitt and his family plan to attend,” Marcum said.

On Sept. 4, the state board designated Pruitt as the final candidate in its four-month search for a successor to retired Commissioner Terry Holliday. Since then, an executive search firm specializing in deep background checks has been completing a personal review of Pruitt for the KBE.

Pruitt has worked in the nation’s capital for Achieve, Inc. since 2010, rising to his current post of senior vice president. In that role, he has worked with state education officials on development of English/ language arts, math, and science Common Core standards. He assisted KDE staff in creating the state's new core science standards and related classroom materials.

 

Pruitt started his career in education in 1991 as an AP and college prep chemistry teacher at a high school in Tyrone, Ga. He taught AP chemistry and gifted chemistry while he was department chair at a Fayetteville, Ga. high school until 2003. 

 

In 2003, Pruitt joined the Georgia Department of Education as a science and program manager. He later served as the agency’s director of academic standards, associate superintendent for assessment and accountability, and chief of staff.

 

Marcum also said that Pruitt’s tentative start date for an agreed-upon contract – and his first day on the job at the Department of Education – would be Friday, Oct. 16.

Since Holliday’s Aug. 31 retirement, Associate Commissioner and General Counsel Kevin C. Brown has been serving as interim commissioner of education.

One-on-One: EKU president Michael Benson

This from the Lane Report:

Mark Green: EKU’s enrollment in 2010 was 16,567, which is close to present numbers. Your strategic plan elements include recruiting more students and enhancing their success. Is there a student body growth goal, and how does that fit into the overall strategy?
Michael Benson: I’ve been president of three institutions, and every school grapples with this question: What is our ultimate sweet spot? You don’t just chase growth for growth’s sake. It’s one thing to get students through the door and quite another thing to retain and graduate them, our ultimate goal. We need to make sure we have the infrastructure in place, whether it’s housing, food service options, the degree programs and the proper faculty-to-student ratio. EKU is not a Tier 1 research institution, so the faculty come here primarily to teach. We really believe in our small class size. We use a very high proportion of full-time faculty to teach – teaching within a setting that is very manageable.

MG: How does a regional comprehensive university like EKU fit into the state’s workforce development strategy?

Dr. Michael T. Benson

MB: We try to be finely and highly attuned to the state’s needs. We for a long time have produced a great percentage of the teachers through our teacher education program. Among 108 degree programs, our most highly sought-after are our occupational therapy and nursing programs. We just started offering another doctorate; we now have four clinical doctoral programs. We now have a Psy.D., which is a psychology doctorate for a clinical practitioner. We have programs that the workforce demands.

I just came back from Ashland where we signed another Two Plus Two agreement for our aviation program. A student can go to the local community college, technical college, and get those two years of general coursework done, and then we bring our aviation program to them. That has proven to be hugely popular and very sought after.

MG: Does EKU have satellite campuses? How much of the overall class catalog do those students have access to? 
MB: We have two very handsome stand-alone structures in Corbin and Manchester for which the state legislature appropriated building funds. We then have operations in different leased spaces in Somerset, Danville and Lancaster. While we try to be as broad as we can in our offerings, access to everything is certainly not possible on a scale where you may not have the student demand.
A high-school student can come to one of our satellite locations and take a dual-credit class during his or her junior or senior year. We try to be attuned to what the needs are and address them.

MG: EKU has about 3,000 online students. What is EKU’s approach to online or “distance” learning?
MB: They can be anywhere. We have people from overseas. That’s the beauty of online: You can be literally around the globe and still dial in and get into the courses that you want to take. Some programs we’ve put wholly online and some are hybrids, a combination of face-to-face and online. A number of our 2,400 graduate students – that’s a high number – are through our online programs. Sometimes I’ll meet a student at graduation and they’ll tell me, “This is my first time on campus.”
Our bread and butter is the face-to-face, undergraduate teaching with a full-time professor in a small classroom. We try to be responsive, and online is a very popular, very sought-after mode of delivery these days.

MG: Describe EKU’s role in the Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) initiative to diversify the economy and increase economic opportunity, especially via homegrown entrepreneurship regionally.
MB: Two of our satellite campuses are hubs for what SOAR is trying to do as well as pushing broadband access out to Eastern Kentucky. We’ve offered several students and faculty to help support the work of the various committees that have spun out of SOAR. I’ve been part of the conversation from day one. I was invited by the governor to be on the larger panel discussion that we had. The first one was in Hazard. Then we went out to Pikeville for the statewide one. Our service region flows directly into the SOAR area. We’re very keen on helping as best we can on issues like this but also helping residents of the area get access to educational opportunities.

MG: EKU’s board of trustees approved demolition of Dupree, Martin and Todd residence halls, which have nearly 1,100 total beds, and the 700/800 blocks of Brockton Family Housing, with new residence halls to be built. Do 50-plus-year-old residence halls no longer well serve today’s student? 
MB: Fifty years ago, to accommodate the huge influx of students, campuses were forced to make decisions based on limited property, limited space. The trend was to go vertically and to build high-rises; you’ll find them at UK, at Western Kentucky University, here, at Morehead State. You have dorm rooms off a long corridor with showers and bathrooms at the end of the hallway. That’s not what students like anymore, so we’ve got to be responsive. What we’re seeing more is lower-slung buildings with more communal space, maybe a shared kitchen and on each floor a place students can congregate. They call them “living and learning communities” because you can learn as much from your classmates and in the social interaction and the skills one develops in interfacing with people who are different as one can learn in the classroom. We are trying to remake and recalibrate our housing offerings and be responsive to what students want today.

MG: Many public universities in the state are undertaking campus housing projects without tax dollars via public-private partnerships. How is EKU planning to finance its campus housing? 
MB: We were approved during the legislative session for $75 million worth of public-private partnerships. Our plan is to do three $25 million pods of housing that will replace these 50-year-old residence halls. Our first new residence hall in 40 years opened last year – and it’s the only LEED Gold-certified residence hall in Kentucky. The demand for that hall is off the charts because students like that it only has three or four stories. It has a big common kitchen on each floor; there are more spaces to get together and congregate and interact. That’s the model we’re after.

We begin construction on the first one, to replace Martin Hall, in January. The schedule has this going through 2018, 2019. So this is a good four- to five-year process where we will build, take down, build, take down, and try to stagger it as best we can to make it as little of an inconvenience for students as possible.

MG: A larger plan for a $215 million Center for Student Life includes a new rec center, renovated student union, new dining facilities and residence halls and other improvements. Financing would come from public-private partnerships, private support, university funds and a recently enacted student fee. Is this on track?
MB: It is. The student fee that kicked in this year addresses two projects. One is a new rec center, because our current rec center is nice but way too small. And number two is a renovated Powell Building, which was built in the ’60s and has not had a lot done to it since then. The students supported that fee. We hope to get approvals from the legislature in January to begin construction on the first phases in early summer of next year. The $215 million includes all the things you mentioned. It includes a new dining facility; we intend to leverage our relationships with our food vendor like what they did at UK with Aramark. Private donors have stepped forward to help fund, for example, the new pedestrian gate at the intersection of Lancaster Avenue and Barnes Mill Road. A private donation helped with our renovation of Roy Kidd Stadium, which we’re undertaking now.

Again, this is a four- to five-year process. When it’s all done you’ll see a reinvigoration of the center of our campus and a building boom that hasn’t been seen since when Robert R. Martin was president for 16 years, and our square footage went up almost fivefold. It’s time to replace some of that infrastructure that’s 50 and 60 years old. Students today are very sophisticated; they know what they want.

MG: The EKU budget approved by the board of trustees for 2015-16 is $348 million, up about 2 percent from the 2014-15 budget of $342 million. Please give us some perspective. 
MB: For a school our size, it’s probably close to the mean. We’ve had to be creative. Before I got here, the board and the administrative team took parts of our budget and reallocated them. That allowed us to do some things with regard to salary increases and positions and really acute-need areas. We’re trying our best to be good stewards of what the state gives us. I tell our folks all the time, you are supported by the taxpayers of the state of Kentucky, and you have an obligation to them to do your best work. We take that stewardship very seriously.

The unfortunate thing in higher education is, states all over are having increased demands and encumbrances on their budgets as it relates to Medicare, Medicaid, social services, health services, and roads and prisons. We’ve had to rely less on state support and instead put it in the form of a consumption tax on our students. Tuition is a targeted tax. You target a consumer, that’s true, but everyone knows that we benefit as a state from an educated populace. The more our citizenry has postsecondary credentials, whether that’s a certificate or a degree or so forth, the less reliant those people are on services that the state renders. They’re less inclined to go to prison. They’re less inclined to get in trouble. They’re more inclined to have better health, to volunteer. There are all these collateral benefits. What we’ve chosen to do, however, is tax that group of people that choose to go to college. Tuition has gone up in recent years because state support has dwindled. We all benefit from an educated populace, and if we want the state to be on a sound financial footing, now and in the future, we’re going to invest in the greatest asset we have, which is human capital.

MG: What are the university’s overall budget revenue sources? What are the major spending categories in the budget? 
MB: About 85 percent of our budget is tied to personnel, so it’s salaries and benefits. About 35 percent of our budget comes from the state; 65 percent comes from tuition and other sources. So we’re very reliant on that consumption tax I talked about. But we’re in the business of people, and we have full-time faculty and staff that need to be compensated at a level commensurate with their abilities and their experience. It’s an ongoing challenge to make sure we have the resources to pay our folks.

MG: What is the role of today’s university president in fundraising?
MB: I’ve been doing fundraising since I started in higher ed; that was my first job. I really quite like it. Some people don’t. Fundraising is sales, and if you’re selling a commodity that you believe in, there’s nothing that’s more gratifying than being able to pair a need with the desire of a donor. When those two intersect, it’s incredibly satisfying and very, very rewarding. I love education; education is the portal to a better life, and to be able to sell that, and to paint a vision of what education means to a young person who may not have access to it except for a scholarship, for example, is terribly exciting. It’s one of my favorite parts of my job to sit down with a donor and say, “All right, Donor X, this is our need. We know that you have the wherewithal to support this. Do you believe in what we’re doing, and will you help us?” The most compelling stories with donors come from students. The story of someone who came from a disadvantaged background, who was maybe the first one in his or her family to go to college, and changed forever the trajectory of his life or her life and those to follow. If you’re not inspired by that, then you’re in the wrong profession. That’s what I love about it. I really do.

MG: You have academic administrative experience in multiple states. How do you assess and rate Kentucky state government’s handling of its public university system?
MB: Well, first off, there are eight of us (university presidents) at the public level. We include KCTCS. We’re in the higher education business. The greatest investment a state can make is in its human capital, investing in people’s skills and developing their aptitude and increasing their knowledge. That’s just the most important thing any state economy can focus on. Would I have liked to have seen more support in the last session? Absolutely, in terms of our ongoing budget. But I’ve never, in my two decades plus, seen a legislature say, “We’re going to make a $540 million investment in capital projects across the system.” That’s just unheard of. Our good fortune was a $66.5 million Phase 2 of a science building. And everybody got their top project. That bodes very well; I think that speaks to the support that higher ed has in the General Assembly. We’ve certainly felt that from the governor’s office. We’ve felt it from our local officials. An investment in education is going to make us less reliant on all those other things that the state has to fund – the prison system, or health and human services, or any of those other things. We’re the only thing that is a panacea to all those ills. Nobody else can say that. And that’s why I love doing what I’m doing.

MG: What actions do you encourage the private sector to take to support educational attainment in the state?
MB: If the private sector is interested in hiring the very best workforce, invest in that workforce in the form of both K-12 education and particularly public higher education. Kentucky has a breadth of institutions that I have never seen before. Berea College here in Madison County is one of the most remarkable institutions in America. And Centre, Transylvania, and Morehead State and UK. Somebody told me that within a 60-mile radius we have 16 public and private institutions. That’s just remarkable. It has an impact on every community and the workforce. The private sector recognizes that if they want to hire the very, very best people, they can support educational attainment in the form of scholarships and private support and encouraging their employees with tuition programs. That’s one of the best investments the private sector can make.

MG: Do you have any closing comments, or is there an area we haven’t discussed that you’d like to address?
MB: I’m in the process of writing a book right now that we’re hoping to get out next year on kind of the democratic underpinnings of our democratic republic, and this tie to educational attainment and commitment that started all the way from George Washington – who, by the way, did not graduate college, but he was in support of a national university – all the way through Harry Truman, who was the only president in the last century, and my hero, who didn’t graduate from college but was a huge supporter of the G.I. Bill and access for all American citizens. If I can use the bully pulpit as president of a public university in a place like Kentucky, along with my colleagues, and say, “The best investment we can make as a state is in public higher education,” then at the end of the day I’ll be happy with what we’ve been able to accomplish.

Dr. Michael T. Benson is the 13th president of Eastern Kentucky University, a position he assumed in August 2013. Prior to coming to EKU, Benson was president of Southern Utah University, where he directed the development and implementation a $100 million comprehensive campaign. Born in Salt Lake City and raised in Texas, Benson earned his bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University with a major in political science and a double minor in English and history. He received his master’s degree in nonprofit administration from the University of Notre Dame and completed his doctorate in modern Middle Eastern history from the University of Oxford (St. Antony’s College). He is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post as a featured blogger on higher-education issues and his book, “Harry S. Truman and the Founding of Israel” has been hailed as a landmark work in the area of American foreign policy and the U.S. presidency.

Final check of Pruitt could be complete within the week

New commissioner may be on board by early October

This from KSBA:

If all goes as expected with an ongoing final background check, Dr. Stephen L. Pruitt could be in Frankfort on the job as Kentucky’s sixth commissioner of education within the month.

Dr. Stephen L. Pruitt

Pruitt, a Washington, D.C., education standards expert with extensive experience ranging from Georgia classrooms to that state’s Department of Education, was identified late Friday as the presumptive choice to succeed recently retired Commissioner Terry Holliday. Pruitt became the “likely” commissioner-to-be after his fellow finalist, former Illinois Superintendent of Education Christopher Koch, withdrew his candidacy Friday. No reason was given for Koch’s decision.

Kentucky Board of Education Chairman Roger Marcum told eNews during the weekend that the in-depth background check of Pruitt is underway and could be completed by the end of this week.

“As soon as the background check is complete, I intend to call a special meeting, based on the availability of KBE members,” Marcum said in an email interview. “Dr. Pruitt has indicated he could begin (the job) a week after all the steps in the hiring process are complete. I would hope he could be present for the Oct. 6 KBE meeting.”

Pruitt has worked in the nation’s capital for Achieve, Inc. since 2010, rising to his current post of senior vice president. In that role, he has worked with state education officials on development of English/ language arts, math, and science Common Core standards. He assisted KDE staff in creating the state's new core science standards and related classroom materials.

Pruitt started his career in education in 1991 as an AP and college prep chemistry teacher at a high school in Tyrone, Ga. He taught AP chemistry and gifted chemistry while he was department chair at a Fayetteville, Ga. high school until 2003.

In 2003, Pruitt joined the Georgia Department of Education as a science and program manager. He later served as the agency’s director of academic standards, associate superintendent for assessment and accountability, and chief of staff.

Marcum, a former teacher, administrator and superintendent, said he was struck both by Pruitt’s qualifications on paper but also his in-person qualities.

“(I was impressed by) Dr. Pruitt's experience in developing standards and assessment/accountability at the state and national level; also, his experience as a teacher,” Marcum said. “Both give a comprehensive understanding and perspective on improving student achievement through a standards-based approach.”

“He has the heart of a teacher,” Marcum said. “He places high value on building relationships. His communication skills coupled with his knowledge make him a highly qualified leader.”

Interim Commissioner of Education Kevin C. Brown is in charge at the Department of Education until the new commissioner begins his duties.

Benson on EKU

EKU President Michael T. Benson chats with Bill Bryant on Kentucky Newsmakers:

Caulk Chats up Commerce Lexington

Advocates Cradle to Career services for students to

live, learn and earn in Fayette Co

FCPS Superintendent Manny Caulk chatted with my ol' buddy Alan Stein at last week's Commerce Lexington breakfast. Mr. Baseball lobs his first great question @8:15.

Caulk shared stories about simple acts of kindness and community that helped shape his view of school as a young child going through desegregation as a child of poverty. He recalls the teacher who first got his attention, and the service workers - such as the bus driver (the first caring adult the students see) who kept books on the bus for the long ride to and from the formerly white-only school, and the cafeteria workers whose smiles and kindness meant so much to the hungry children.

Caulk also shared the Fayette County schools' transition from a small suburban district to a larger, more urban district. My colleague Roger Clevelend has been talking about this noteworthy shift for a couple of years now and Caulk put some numbers to it.

The Fayette Co schools ...where the 29 red schools are rated as "needs improvement"...