Transition results for KBE priority districts

From "The Prichard Blog!"
Posted: 29 Sep 2009 07:48 PM PDT

Next week's Kentucky Board of Education agenda features "Reports from the Christian County, Covington Independent, Jefferson County and Union County school districts on progress toward improved achievement in low-performing schools." KBE's regular public checkups are designed to get those districts focused on effective school change in some situations that have been acutely troubled.

Using the transition index district results as a quick overview, here's a summary of the 2007 to 2009 changes in each district, from strongest to weakest. (Rankings of district improvement are based on 175 districts at the elementary and middle level, and 171 districts at the high school level.)

Union County can report a 17 point increase in the elementary index, plus 7 points on the middle index and 2 points on the high school index. That puts them second in elementary improvement, 36th in middle school improvement, and 77th on high school improvement over the two years. Since Union has spent the last year in a much-publicized effort to raise performance without state assistance, it's worth noting that looking at just their 2008 to 2009 change shows their district improvement as fifth strongest at the elementary level, seventh strongest at the middle level, and fourth strongest overall.

Christian County has raised elementary results 10 points and middle and high school results 7 points each. Those growth rates are the 9th fastest among elementaries, 39th fastest among middle schools, and 25th fastest for high schools.

Covington has raised their elementary index 11 points, middle index 4 points, and high school index 1 point. That's the fifth best elementary growth in the state, 69th for middle and 85th for high schools.

Jefferson County did not improve results. There, the elementary index is down 2 points, the middle index down 1 point, and the high school index effectively flat. Among districts statewide, that puts the district's pace of change at 142nd for elementaries, 152nd for middle schools, and 108th for high schools.

To my eye, Union's great and Christian's good: the added KBE scrutiny may soon come to an end. Covington's made an important start, but has enough work ahead to warrant continuing attention. Jefferson, meanwhile, warrants not only continuing oversight but growing concern.



Pat's observation: Union County, Christian County and Covington are all Study Island districts!!

New Classroom Improvement Technology Grant

Turning Technologies’ Turning Foundation Partners with Study Island and Performance Matters to Launch Grant Initiative

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Turning Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization established by Turning Technologies, LLC, today announced in partnership with Study Island and Performance Matters, their 2009 Classroom Improvement Technology Grant. The goal of this joint effort is to help educators develop 21st Century classrooms and improve achievement by providing technology and professional development tools from multiple industry leading companies.

Turning Foundation Director, John Wilson stated, “In developing the 2009 Classroom Improvement Technology Grant, we intentionally reached out to Turning Technologies’ excellent K-12 partners. Our goal is to positively impact student achievement and increase the overall success of students and teachers in the classroom. Combining these effective solutions under one grant opportunity will give award recipients the tools they need to accomplish exactly that. We appreciate both Study Island’s and Performance Matters’ contributions to this year’s grant program.”

Grant applications will be accepted from teachers in grades 3-8 currently teaching in an accredited, non-profit, public school building in the United States. Fifteen (15) classroom awards estimated at $5000 each will be distributed and include student response technology, a web-based standards mastery program, as well as data management tools.

Selected applicants will receive the following:

Turning Technologies, developer of interactive student response systems focused on engaging and motivating students while increasing achievement, will provide one 32-seat radio frequency student response system that includes: TurningPoint® and TurningPoint AnyWhere™ polling software, ResponseCard® RF keypads, USB-based response RF receiver, QuestionPoint™ 2 - state-aligned question bank, customized carrying case and technical support.

Study Island, a leading provider of online, standards-based assessment, instruction, practice, and test preparation programs for the U.S. K-12 educational market, will include a one year license of the specific classroom subject for up to 30 students as well as access to their industry award-winning customer and technical support. Study Island enables students to choose their style of learning and work at their own pace. They can work using a standard test format or choose from a wide range of interactive games.

Performance Matters, a pioneer in the field of K-12 information management systems, has developed a web-based data management system that is an enterprise platform for data driven decision making geared toward both small and large school districts across the country. Performance Matters will provide one year of access to their award winning solution for each awarded teacher as well as technical and professional development support.

“Providing K-12 educators access to Study Island’s foundationally and statistically research-based content will offer educators an effective tool in increasing student learning and achievement. Partnering with the Turning Foundation on the Classroom Improvement Technology Grant is an ideal extension of our strong partnership,” stated Archipelago Learning CEO, Tim McEwen. Archipelago Learning LLC is the parent company of Study Island.

Woody Dillaha, Performance Matters CEO commented, “Our solution is designed to turn data into actionable information for every stakeholder involved in student learning and will help teachers accurately analyze student performance data against state standards in order to differentiate instruction and meet student learning needs. We’re excited to collaborate with the Turning Foundation on this grant opportunity and provide award winners with a complete package.”

Grant applications will be available online starting September 22, 2009 and will close October 25, 2009. Awards will be announced October 30, 2009. For more information, please visit: www.TurningTechnologies.com/K12Grant/.

About Turning Foundation:

Turning Technologies, LLC, a leader in the interactive student response industry, established The Turning Foundation - a separate non-profit 501(c)3 organization in 2009 to help educational organizations find and secure the resources necessary to help classrooms, schools, and districts with their school improvement efforts.http://www.turningtechnologies.com/studentresponsesystem/turningfoundation
About Study Island, LLC:

Since 2000, Study Island has been building and marketing online, state standards-based learning programs that are the most effective and easiest to use of their kind. Our in-house technical development and content teams design and create our programs, which are used by millions of students in thousands of schools across the United States. All of our programs are built specifically from state standards and are designed to create a user-friendly experience for both students and teachers alike. For more information, visit www.studyisland.com.

About Performance Matters:

Performance Matters provides products and services for K-12 school systems which are designed to turn data into actionable information for every stakeholder involved in student learning. www.performancematters.com

http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090923005876&newsLang=en

September 23, 2009 11:04 AM Eastern Daylight Time

H1N1 Plan for Schools

Study Island should be a major component of your H1N1 plan because:
· students can continue to work on mastery of their required standards
· teachers can continue to monitor the progress of their classes and students
· teachers can continue to make assignments
· students can complete assignments and get feedback
· teachers and students can communicate through Study Island’s internal email system
…all this from the safety of your home while working online.

Teachers can utilize the “Printable Worksheet” feature of Study Island to provide specific, standards-based worksheets for students that cannot get online.

Top Scoring Kentucky Schools CATS Scores 08-09

(Schools that use Study Island are highlighted in green.)

Top-scoring Elementary Schools
All elementary schools sorted from highest 2008 score to lowest
Central Elementary School
May Valley Elementary School
Middle Fork Elementary School
Veterans Park Elementary School
White Hall Elementary School
East Heights Elementary School
Sedalia Elementary School
Rosa Parks Elementary School
Paint Lick Elementary School
Moyer Elementary School

Top-scoring Middle Schools
All middle schools sorted from highest 2008 score to lowest
North Oldham Middle School
Corbin Middle School
Hancock County Middle School
East Oldham Middle School
Barret Traditional Middle School
Morton Middle School
Drakes Creek Middle School
Belfry Middle School
Gray Middle School
Benton Middle School

Top-scoringHigh Schools
All high schools sorted from highest 2008 score to lowest
Dupont Manual High School
Louisville Male High School
Beechwood High School
Highlands High School
North Oldham High School
Frederick Fraize High School
South Oldham High School
Model Laboratory High School
Hazard High School
Elizabethtown High School

Data source: Louisville Courier-Journal, Wednesday, September 23, 2009.
http://datacenter.courier-journal.com/scores/2009/

Study Island Announces Online Community Forums, Contest

Study Island, LLC, one of the leading and fastest growing Web-based educational companies, announces the launch of online community forums.

The Island Community, Study Island's group of forums, is designed to be an online meeting place for educators to share ideas and best practices, exchange tips and success stories, learn more about Study Island programs and industry trends, and much more.

To kick off the launch of the Island Community, Study Island is sponsoring an Island Community Block Party, a daily contest for registered forum users with a grand prize award to be drawn on October 1, 2009.

"What an exciting addition to the services Study Island has to offer," stated Greg Smith, Director of Professional Development and Social Networks of Archipelago Learning, Study Island's parent company. "Community forums are one of the best ways to communicate with our users and for our users to communicate with each other. Our goal with the Island Community is to assist educators and their students to be successful in 21st Century Classrooms."

The Island Community Block Party contest is from September 9, 2009 until September 30, 2009. Daily prizes include Study Island Social Networks t-shirts and one year TeacherWeb subscriptions. TeacherWeb provides tools to design teacher, school, and district websites and is a sister company to Study Island. The grand prize winner will receive a Zune HD 16 G Video mp3 player.

To learn more about the Island Community visit http://forums.studyisland.com/forum/.
For information about the Island Community Block Party, visit http://forums.studyisland.com/blog/blogpost.cfm?threadid=41&catid=52.

Below is a fact sheet outlining the impact of President Obama’s economic policies on Kentucky

From Recovery.gov as of August 19, 2009

State Fiscal Stabilization Funds:
The State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) program is a new one-time appropriation of $53.6 billion under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). These funds are distributed directly to states to:
· Help stabilize state and local government budgets in order to minimize and avoid reductions in education and other essential public services.
· Help ensure that local educational agencies (LEAs) and public institutions of higher education (IHEs) have the resources to avert cuts and retain educational personnel and staff.
· Help support the modernization, renovation, and repair of school and college facilities.
· Help advance early learning through post-secondary education reforms to benefit students and families.

As of today, $475,518,587 in State Fiscal Stabilization funds have been awarded to Kentucky.

Title I, Part A– Supporting Low-Income Schools:
The ARRA provides $10 billion in additional Title I, Part A funds to state education agencies (SEAs) and local education agencies (LEAs) to support schools that have high concentrations of students from families that live in poverty in order to help improve teaching and learning for students most at risk of failing to meet state academic achievement standards.

As of today, $77,673,946 in Title I funds have been awarded to Kentucky.

IDEA Grants, Parts B & C – Improving Special Education Programs:
The ARRA provides $12.2 billion in additional funding for Parts B and C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Part B of the IDEA provides funds to state educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) to help them ensure that children with disabilities, including children aged three through five, have access to a free appropriate public education to meet each child's unique needs and prepare him or her for further education, employment, and independent living. Part C of the IDEA provides funds to each state lead agency designated by the Governor to implement statewide systems of coordinated, comprehensive, multidisciplinary interagency programs and make early intervention services available to infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families.

As of today, $86,811,168 in IDEA funds have been awarded to Kentucky.

Education Technology Grants:
The ARRA provides $650 million in additional funding for Education Technology Grants. The primary goal of the Education Technology Grants program is to improve student academic achievement through the use of technology in schools. It is also designed to help ensure that every student is technologically literate by the end of eighth grade and to encourage the effective integration of technology with teacher training and curriculum development.

As of today, $9,899,923 in Education Technology Grants have been awarded to Kentucky.

Vocational Rehabilitation Funds:
The ARRA provides $540 million in additional funding for the Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) State Grants program. The VR State Grants program provides grants to states to help individuals with disabilities, especially those individuals with the most significant disabilities, prepare for, obtain, and maintain employment.

As of today, $4,659,137 in Vocational Rehabilitation Funds have been awarded to Kentucky.

Independent Living Services Fund:
The ARRA provides $140 million in additional funding for the Independent Living (IL) programs. The IL programs support services to individuals with significant disabilities and older individuals who are blind to maximize their leadership, empowerment, independence, and productivity, and to promote the integration and full inclusion of individuals with disabilities into the mainstream of American society.

As of today, $751,379 in Independent Living Services Funds have been awarded to Kentucky.

McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Funds:
The ARRA provides $70 million under the McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youth program to assist States and local educational agencies (LEAs) in addressing the educational and related needs of some of the most vulnerable members of our society – homeless children and youth – during a time of economic crisis in the United States.

As of today, $1,319,915 in McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance funds have been awarded to Kentucky.

Pell Grant Funds:
The ARRA provides $17.1 billion in additional funds for students across the country in need of Pell Grants. The Federal Pell Grant Program provides need-based grants to low-income undergraduate and certain post-baccalaureate students to promote access to postsecondary education. Students may use their grants at any one of approximately 5,400 participating postsecondary institutions. The additional funding allowed the Department of Education to raise the maximum Pell award from $4,731 to $5,350.

Pell Grants are awarded based on student applications, not by state. As of today, $120,867,675 in Pell Grants have been awarded to students attending schools in Kentucky.

Work Study Funds:
The ARRA provides an additional $200 million to the Work-Study program, providing colleges and universities with additional funding to provide jobs to students to help with their college and living expenses.

Work Study funds are distributed to qualifying schools which select students based on financial need. As of today, $2,923,163 in Work Study funds have been awarded to students attending schools in Kentucky.