Kentucky Department of Education

A bus driver shortage in Kentucky and across the nation is adding to families’ stress as students return to school.  The shortage of bus drivers is complicating the start of a school year already besieged by COVID-19. 

Chip Jenkins is Transportation Director for Warren County Public Schools.  He’s normally behind a desk, but lately he’s been behind the wheel.

“It’s definitely tasking, mentally, physically," Jenkins told WKU Public Radio. "I drive six hours a day myself sometimes.”

The Kentucky Department of Education is preparing to administer state assessments this spring, despite disruptions in learning brought on by COVID-19. The tests are expected to reveal the impact of the pandemic on student achievement.

The U.S. Department of Education, so far, has not granted waivers on statewide testing as it did for the 2019-2020 school year. In a Sept. 3 letter to Chief State School Officers, then-Education Secretary Betsy DeVos wrote that states should not anticipate such waivers this academic year.

Kentucky administers tests in reading and mathematics in grades 3-8 and 10; in science at grades 4, 7 and 11; and in social studies and writing at grades 5, 8 and 11. 

In addition, students in 11th grade take a state administration of the ACT.

The Kentucky Department of Education's first ever chief equity officer has experience with adversity, segregation, and public schooling.

The Arkansas native and nationally honored former school superintendent, Dr. Thomas Woods-Tucker, plans on taking those lessons with him to the Bluegrass State.

The Kentucky Board of Education issued a resolution in July declaring its commitment to addressing inequality. It was a move that helped convince Woods-Tucker to take the position.

During a conversation this month WKU Public Radio, just days after starting the job, Deputy Commissioner Woods-Tucker said few other states have taken that step.

Schools in Kentucky and across the nation are in limbo as COVID-19 makes it impossible, so far, for educators to determine whether there will be in-personclasses in the fall.

However, one thing is certain: Kentucky is looking for a new commissioner of education to guide the state’s 172 school districts through these uncertain times. 

The Kentucky Department of Education has the job description for its commissioner posted on its website. In this time of a pandemic, the description is perhaps understated. It offers “an exciting and challenging leadership opportunity to make a differencefor more than 648,000 public school students in the state.”

High school seniors in Kentucky are now facing the reality there won’t be prom, graduation ceremonies, and other rites of passage this year because of the coronavirus. 

Governor Andy Beshear canceled the remainder of the school year to in-person learning and other activities this week. 

Jae Foley, a senior at Bowling Green High School, says there’s one particular event she was looking forward to the most.

Education leaders in Kentucky say any high school senior who was on track to graduate in May will still do so, despite the lengthy period of school closures brought on by the coronavirus.

The Kentucky Education Department's Education Continuation Task Force has been meeting to discuss how high school graduation requirements will be met for the Class of 2020. 

Local school districts have the option of waiving any additional graduation requirements beyond the 22 credits required by the state.  School systems could also choose to eliminate elective requirements and lower the number of required credits to 15.

The Kentucky Department of Education School Report Card shows that state schools earned an overall ranking of three stars out of a possible five. Schools in 173 districts were rated on multiple assessments, including proficiency in math and reading, readiness for a career or college, graduation rates and achievement gaps.

Bowling Green city schools are on par with the statewide average, but one issue facing the district is an achievement gap that arises from its large number of students who speak English as a second language.

Bowling Green Independent Schools have students who speak a total of 49 different languages. Superintendent Gary Fields said the district celebrates diversity, but that wide range of languages needs the most attention for students in 6th to 8thgrades.

The Kentucky Department of Education is seeking feedback on the state’s new minimum high school graduation requirements. 

Education Commissioner Wayne Lewis will hold four town hall forums this month and next.  The first one is on Monday evening in Shelbyville at the Ohio Valley Education Cooperative. 

The day report cards go home in backpacks is an important moment for students, who will show their families just how well things are going at school. But in an era of school accountability, students aren’t the only ones who receive grades. The Kentucky Department of Education will soon release its annual report cards that score individual public schools. And this year’s school report cards will include a new feature — a final grade.

Well, it’s not exactly a grade, like in neighboring Indiana where schools get an A to F score just like their students. In Kentucky, schools will receive one to five stars. Kentucky Commissioner of Education Wayne Lewis said this will improve the state’s school report cards, which in the past have offered lots of data about schools, but no final score.

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.