September 2010

Worth Remembering
“We've spent the last 100 years near the bottom; let's spend the next 100 years much closer to the top. We've shown we can do this.” --- Dr. Robert Sexton

EPSB Annual Report
The 2009-2010 EPSB annual report is online at this link: 2009-2010 EPSB Annual Report.

Kentucky Teacher Internship Program
As of today, August 31, 2010, EPSB staff has approved 1,470 internships.   The EPSB decision at the August meeting to reduce the number of out-of-class hours from 50 to 40 will permit us to serve 2,493 interns this school year.  This action also returned the per hour stipend paid to the resource teacher for out-of-class hours to $28 per hour. 
BTW: Of the 479 interns who were denied KTIP due to budget over the last two years 394 (82%) have either completed KTIP or are enrolled in KTIP for this year.  
University staff members have posted KTIP training information which may be accessed on our Website at: http://www.epsb.ky.gov/IMSTraining/ImsTraininginfo.aspx.   
The Office of Career and Education Technology (CET) has again provided funds to support payments for resource teachers and teacher educators for CET interns.  Provided through the federal Carl Perkins Grant, these funds are critical in helping us meet our goal of providing KTIP to all interns. 

EPSB Employee Furloughs and Office Closures
Like all other state agencies under the Executive Branch, all EPSB employees and contractors will be required to be furloughed six days during the 2010-2011 fiscal year.  The Governor has required that three of the six days be on a Friday adjacent to three holidays (Labor Day, Memorial Day and Veterans Day).  The remaining three days will be taken during the months of October, March, and April with agencies having some flexibility on when employees are furloughed.
Please note that the EPSB will be closed on Friday, September 3 in observance of a statewide furlough day as a budget balancing measure.  The offices will also be closed on Monday, September 6 in observance of Labor Day.
Teacher Working Conditions Survey: TELL Kentucky
We continue to move closer to a survey of working conditions within Kentucky schools.  We now have a name, TELL (Teaching, Empowering, Leading and Learning) Kentucky, a logo, and a date for the online survey, March 1-25th, 2011.  
For more information and relevant research, please click on this link: New Teacher Center Teaching & Working Conditions Survey
KATE Conference
The Kentucky Association of Teacher Educators (KATE) is having its fall conference at the Thomas and King Leadership & Conference Center at Georgetown College on Friday, September 24, 2010. The conference is titled “Renewing the Reform: Where Do We Go from Here?” with Dr. Terry Holliday, Commissioner, Kentucky Department of Education as the keynote speaker.

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
We have secured an additional $200,000 in federal subsidies for our NB candidates.  With our original allocation of $325,000, the additional allocation brings our NB federal subsidies to $525,000.  Pending use of funds by other states, Kentucky may be eligible to receive additional funds if needed. 
Although the funds never actually come to the EPSB, our NB candidates do receive credit for half their National Board Certification fee, which is currently $2,500.   These federal funds allow the EPSB to use our state NB allocation to reimburse 75% of the remaining $1,250 instead of the entire $2,500 fee, thereby permitting us to serve more NB candidates.
HR Directors & LEAD Coordinators Training on September 10

EPSB staff is again holding voluntary training for new and experienced human resources directors and other staff to help them in working with their districts’ certification needs.  This year’s training will be held at the EPSB offices on the afternoon of Friday, September 10.  As of today, over 70 persons are registered for the update training, which will be conducted by Mike Carr.
That same morning, Cindy Godsey will conduct training for all new LEAD Coordinators to ensure that they have the latest updates on that process. 
BTW: Those who wish to view the training sessions presented around the state each year by the Division of Certification may do so on their personal computers.  To brush up on the basics of certification types in Kentucky or learn of recent changes in certification, visit: http://epsb.ky.gov/certification/index.asp.  If you would like to learn more about the LEAD process, visit: http://epsb.ky.gov/certification/LEAD.asp.  At either of these sites, you can quickly get the most up-to-date information.

Local Educator Assignment Data (LEAD) Reports Open September 9
The LEAD application for districts will open on September 9.  This is the time that districts can begin uploading their data to the EPSB website to correct errors for final submission in late October.
LEAD stands for Local Educator Assignment Data (we originally called this report the District Educator Assignment Data, but the acronym just didn’t work).  The EPSB is required to check each educator’s certification annually to ensure that certifications match current assignments in the schools.  Through Infinite Campus, the current student information system used in the state, each school in Kentucky will present all teacher assignments for examination by EPSB staff.  Districts have until late October to submit these data for final review, which is done via an on-line submission process developed by EPSB staff.  Educators found to be in incorrect assignments will be reported to the KDE commissioner in November for possible sanctions against the district.

Assessments
The EPSB is seeking nominations for several upcoming Praxis II test reviews and multi-state Standard Setting Studies (SSS). Each panel requires representatives from higher education and K-12.  This is an excellent professional development experience with all travel expenses paid, as well as reimbursement to the district for the cost of a substitute (if needed). If interested, please contact jaime.rice@ky.gov

Certification Areas for Praxis II test reviews:
-Art
-Chinese
-Music
-Middle School English
-Deaf and Hard of Hearing
-Visual Impairments

 Rank Change Season in Certification
The Division of Certification is in the midst of its busiest time, with thousands of teachers needing quick processing of rank changes and certificate renewals.  At present, all available personnel are giving top priority to the processing of these credentials, and there should be no problem in completing these before September 15. 
Rather than calling the office, teachers are asked to check the status of their applications at www.epsb.ky.gov by clicking on the "View My Application Status" link.  That site allows a teacher immediate access to the same information that a consultant sees during a phone call.
The division has done an outstanding job this summer keeping up with the busy season.  As of August 20, before the final transcripts had arrived at EPSB, the division had created or edited over 21,000 credentials since May 1, and there was virtually no backlog in the office.
Congratulations for a job well done again this summer!

Regulations Update
On August 10, 2010, amendments to 16 KAR 6:010 and 16 KAR 6:030 were reviewed by the Administrative Regulations Review Subcommittee (ARRS).  The amendments to these regulations were approved by the Board at its May meeting.  Staff will be notified on September 1, 2010 if the Joint Education Committee will review the regulatory changes. 

Ethics seminars:
The staff of the Division of Legal Services will be conducting ethics seminars at the following locations in September.
September 2 – Alice Lloyd College
September 7 – University of Louisville
September 9 – Kentucky State University
September 16 – Kentucky State University
September 27 – Kentucky Wesleyan College
To schedule an ethics seminar for your university or school district, please contact Elise Borne at elise.borne@ky.gov.

Accreditation Visits
Pre-visits for:
University of the Cumberlands --- September 9-10
 Eastern Kentucky University – September 13-14

Meetings, Conferences, Etc

September 1 – College & Career Readiness News Conference
September 3 – Furlough Day, EPSB Office Closed
September 6 – Labor Day, EPSB Office Closed
September 7 – Southeast/South-central Educational Cooperative meeting
September 9 – LEAD website opens
September 10 – Commonwealth Collaborative for School Leadership Programs meeting
September 14 – Transforming Education in Kentucky (TEK) Task Force Retreat
September 15 – Kentucky Educational Development Cooperative meeting
September 15 – TELL Kentucky meeting
September 15 – Central Kentucky Educational Cooperative meeting
September 15 – Northern Kentucky Cooperative for Educational Services meeting
September 16 – Western Kentucky Educational Cooperative meeting
September 15/17 – Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium meeting
September 20 – Regular meeting of the EPSB
September 21 – EPSB Staff Leadership meeting
September 22 – Master’s Redesign Committee meeting
September 22 – Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative meeting
September 23 – Committee for the Review of Superintendent Preparation meeting
September 29 – Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative meeting