education

On the first day of August, just two weeks before most Kentucky schools start class, there were 2,974 vacancies posted for public school educators across the state. Kentucky Commissioner of Education Wayne Lewis says that’s a serious problem. 

“We see more districts, that begin the academic year — where kids are showing up in classrooms — and they have not filled positions,” Lewis said.

And in some cases, he says students may even finish the school year with a long term substitute or a teacher who is not fully certified.

Owensboro is launching a new public school with the start of the academic year on Aug. 7. Owensboro Innovation Middle School has 300 students who represent all of the elementary buildings in the Owensboro Public Schools district.

The only entrance requirement for Innovation Middle is the interest of the student and parents. This year is first-come, first-served, and there’s already a waiting list.     

Innovation Middle School for grades 6-8 opens four years after the launch of Owensboro Innovation Academy, a public high school that focuses on hands-on, project-based learning. That requires students to take the contents of a subject, like science, math or English, and work in teams to solve problems.

Most Kentucky schools will kick off a new academic year next month with 5,000 fewer teachers than what the commonwealth needs. 

Kentucky is experiencing a teacher shortage created by educators leaving the profession and fewer college students majoring in education. 

While there have traditionally been shortages in foreign languages and special education, some districts have open positions in the most popular disciplines. 

A new report from the Appalachian Regional Commission shows that Central Appalachia lags behind other parts of the region in employment, household income, and other key measures.

The data come from the American Community Survey, which is similar to the census and tracks county-level data over five-year periods. Researchers often use the survey to understand trends over time.

The Appalachian Regional Commission, which analyzed the ACS data, separated Appalachia into five subregions. In many key metrics, Central Appalachia, which includes parts of Kentucky and West Virginia, lagged behind other subregions.

The new head of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education says he expects colleges and universities to re-evaluate their course offerings just as Western Kentucky University has recently done. 

WKU is preparing to eliminate 101 academic programs while transforming and expanding others. 

In an interview on Thursday with WKU Public Radio, CPE President Aaron Thompson said schools are eliminating both people and programs to contend with a decrease in state funding, declining enrollment, and increasing pension obligations.

Western Kentucky University is celebrating Fulbright Week through April 5. 

More than 370,000 scholars, students, professionals, and groups have participated in the Fulbright program worldwide since it began in 1946.  WKU English Professor Dr. Deborah Logan is the recipient of two Fulbright research awards to India in 2012 and 2018. 

"Having these one on one connections with people in India over the months that I was there helps them to see beyond the stereotypes, helps me to see beyond the stereotypes and look at real people doing real things with real concerns about the direction that the world is going in," Logan said. 

A seismic generational shift is underway on college campuses across the globe.  With fewer college age students to pull from, the competition for enrollment and retention is intense. 

Jeff Kallay is CEO of Render Experiences, a national consulting firm specializing in the college experience.  He says services are the new amenities for Gen-X parents and their post-9/11 Gen-Z students.

“Academic advising, career services...so services that keep my son or daughter happy, healthy, and on target to graduate on time and to have an outcome to the next level of post professional school or graduate school or getting that job."