Call to Order and Roll Call
The third meeting of the Interim Joint Committee on Education was held on Monday, August 10, 2015, at 1:00 PM, in Room 154 of the Capitol Annex. Senator Mike Wilson, Co-Chair, called the meeting to order, and the secretary called the roll.
Present were:
Members: Senator Mike Wilson, Co-Chair; Representative Derrick Graham, Co-Chair; Senators Julie Raque Adams, Jared Carpenter, Danny Carroll, David P. Givens, Jimmy Higdon, Alice Forgy Kerr, Reginald Thomas, Johnny Ray Turner, and Stephen West; Representatives Linda Belcher, George Brown Jr., Regina Bunch, John Carney, Hubert Collins, Leslie Combs, Jim DeCesare, Jeffery Donohue, Kelly Flood, Cluster Howard, James Kay, Brian Linder, Mary Lou Marzian, Donna Mayfield, Reginald Meeks, Charles Miller, Rick G. Nelson, Ruth Ann Palumbo, Marie Rader, Tom Riner, Bart Rowland, Rita Smart, Wilson Stone, David Watkins, Addia Wuchner, and Jill York.
Legislative Guest: Representative Arnold Simpson.
Guests: Brent McKim, Jefferson County Teachers Association (JCTA); Melissa Aguilar, Kentucky Workforce Innovation Board; Beth Kuhn, Department of Workforce Investment; Warren Shelton, Jefferson County Association of School Administrators (JCASA); Clyde Caudill, Kentucky Association of School Administrators (KASA).
LRC Staff: Jo Carole Ellis, Ben Boggs, Joshua Collins, and Daniel Clark.
Approval of the Minutes of the July, 13, 2015, Meeting
Upon motion from Representative Hubert Collins, seconded by Representative Graham, the minutes were approved by voice vote.
Resolution in Appreciation of Commissioner Terry Holliday
Co-Chairs Mike Wilson and Derrick Graham presented Terry Holliday, Commissioner, Kentucky Department of Education (KDE), with a resolution honoring his retirement and service to the Commonwealth as commissioner of education.
Reports of Subcommittee Meetings
Representative Reginald Meeks reported that the Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education met to hear a presentation on adult education from the Council on Postsecondary Education. Representative Wilson Stone reported that the Subcommittee on Elementary and Secondary Education was given an update on the implementation of recent school calendar legislation dealing with emergency snow days and the Non-Traditional Instruction Program. The subcommittee also heard presentations about Family Resource and Youth Service Centers and the Allen County Backpack Program. A complete set of minutes for each subcommittee is located in the Legislative Research Commission (LRC) Library.
Presentation: Policies and Practices for Turning Around Persistently Low-Performing Schools
Daniel L. Duke, Professor, University of Virginia, spoke about the evolution of school improvement and said school improvement has changed from comprehensive school reform to the replacement of personnel, from incentives to sanctions, from individual schools to school districts, and from guaranteed assistance to competition for resources.
Dr. Duke said school improvement plans need a state approved template and input from the state into the development of the plan. Also, there needs to be a state audit/evaluation of the school prior to development of the plan. In regards to school improvement planning, some state templates for plans are too extensive and state audits/evaluations can be superficial, depending on who conducts them.
Dr. Duke spoke about the federal report on state capacity to support school turnaround and said 32 states created a state office of school turnaround while 14 states used regional office staff to support school turnaround. Also, 10 states designated regional school turnaround offices, and 40 states reported significant gaps in expertise for supporting school turnaround.
Dr. Duke said there can be issues with school turnaround assistance. Turnaround partners need to be vetted carefully, and principals along with district administrators may not always be trained in contract management. Also, state experts on school turnaround may convey mixed messages and school pairings may be mismatched.
Dr. Duke spoke about school turnaround staffing issues and said turnover of personnel in low-performing schools can be very high. Also, replacing ineffective teachers is a much greater problem for rural schools, and many low-performing schools are located in districts with non-competitive salaries. Dr. Duke said there are many finance issues that plague school turnaround. There are 12 states that can withhold funding from schools that fail to improve, and there are 18 states that can direct how school improvement funds are spent. Also, there are 24 states that allow financial incentives to attract educators to low-performing schools.
Dr. Duke said some states can dictate class sizes in low-performing schools and require data-driven decision making. Some states can also require changes to the school day, school calendar, and the curriculum. Dr. Duke said required changes by states to day-to-day operations may not be effective if principals are not trained to monitor and manage changes and district leaders fail to provide support and oversight for changes. Periodic changes to state curriculum guidelines and testing programs can disrupt and derail turnaround initiatives.
Dr. Duke spoke about key factors in turning around low-performing schools and said turning a school around begins with leadership. In the absence of a capable leader, teachers are unlikely to initiate school turnaround on their own. A school turnaround specialist must convey a sense of urgency without seeming to panic and promote collaboration while avoiding groupthink. Also, a school turnaround specialist must inspire trust while letting everyone know that incompetence will not be tolerated.
Dr. Duke said to ensure first year achievement gains in turnaround schools, there must be teamwork, more time for instruction, and interventions for struggling students. There also needs to be first and second order strategies. First order strategies are the foundation of the turnaround process and are school-wide drivers of change that deal with the overall program of studies and the general operational process. Second order strategies are focused drivers of change and address specific problems related to student achievement. First and second order changes result in improved student achievement. Facilitators of change enable first and second order strategies to be implemented successfully.
Dr. Duke said to sustain success in turnaround schools there needs to be strengthening in the curriculum beyond English and math, development of a continuum of interventions, reculturing the school, recruiting and retaining capable staff, and distributing leadership. Also, school districts play a critical role in the turnaround process. Sustaining school improvement in a poorly led and ineffectively managed school districts is unlikely.
In response to Chairman Mike Wilson’s questions regarding the certification process for principals in turnaround training and professional development, Dr. Duke said the University of Virginia issues a certificate for principals who complete a two-year training program. Also, there is a lot of professional development provided for teachers and principals to help with the turnaround process for schools.
In response to Senator Danny Carroll’s question regarding colleges that have programs helping teachers prepare for situations in failing schools, Dr. Duke said there are urban education programs located in urban areas to help prepare teachers for school turnaround situations.
In response to Senator Reginald Thomas’s question regarding universal early childhood education, Dr. Duke said universal early childhood education is one of the best options for states, especially for children who are raised in poverty.
In response to Representative Miller’s question regarding whether principals should be from within a school district or brought in from outside the district for school turnaround, Dr. Duke said he does not know of any studies comparing the effectiveness of incoming principals compared to principals within a school district.
Senator Julie Raque Adams said people tend to lose sight of the students in turnaround schools because of the focus on personnel in school districts. The focus needs to be more on students’ preparation for the global market place.
In response to Senator Julie Raque Adams’s question regarding studies allowing superintendents to select new personnel instead of the principal, Dr. Duke said there are school districts that allow the superintendent to select new personnel but there are no systematic studies that compare the effectiveness of the superintendent hiring new personnel.
In response to Representative Reginald Meeks’s question regarding Dr. Duke’s opinion on best practices that other state’s legislatures have used regarding to school turnaround, Dr. Duke said bipartisanship amongst state legislators on educational issues and following customization models instead of standardization models are two examples of best practices legislators can use.
In response to Representative Derrick Graham’s questions regarding the elimination of external management providers in Indiana and the development of the school turnaround plan, Dr. Duke said Indiana now uses transformation zones instead of external providers and the school turnaround plan is developed in conjunction with principals, teachers, and a district leadership team.
In response to Representative Graham’s follow up question regarding the use of vouchers and charter schools in low-performing school districts, Dr. Duke said his fear is public schools will be filled with students who have special needs and students who come from poverty. Charter schools and public schools should be on an even playing field.
Chairman Mike Wilson said a school’s environment makes a huge difference in a school’s turnaround and leadership. Warren County’s Leader in Me program has been a great model for school turnaround and has had success in low-performing schools.
Presentation: Turning Around Kentucky’s Low-Performing Schools
Tom Shelton, Executive Director, Kentucky Association of School Superintendents (KASS), said KDE works to implement the policies from the federal and state government with the level of staffing and resources it has. There needs to be much more flexibility for local school districts, and KASS needs to continue working with KDE to develop guidelines for district support and intervention for schools. KASS recommends that there be more collaboration between school-based decision making councils and the community before a school becomes low performing. Also, KASS wants to work on developing a positive environment by having the right leadership in schools and by having the school district give more input on the principal selection at low-performing schools.
Dr. Shelton said KASS believes there should be incentives for school staff to work in low-performing schools and collaborate with KDE to develop capacities at low-performing schools. In order to develop capacities in low-performing schools, there needs to be work with leadership skills of school leaders. Also, intervention for students in low-performing schools needs to happen as early as possible to help develop capacities.
Brent McKim, President, JCTA, said JCTA is very supportive of the concept of options to expand local control and flexibility at struggling schools in order to empower those schools to be more successful. When a school is not performing well, the assessments given to make this determination can have an effect on the school’s performance and environment. Low test scores are a symptom of a more fundamental problem within a struggling school.
Mr. McKim spoke about New York’s performance standards consortium and said New York has 28 high schools that have been granted a waiver to use an alternate assessment model rather than a multiple choice state test. The alternate assessment used by the 28 schools in New York is performance based and locally designed. Also, the 28 schools partner with higher education institutions to help train teachers to design and score local performance assessments that are very engaging for students.
Warren Shelton, Executive Director, JCASA, spoke of his experiences as a former teacher and principal at a low-performing school. Mr. Shelton said JCASA would like for school districts to have an option of what methods to use in assisting a low-performing school. Also, JCASA would recommend that there be more encouragement and incentives to place the best principals at low-performing schools without those principals risking their careers. JCASA would like for principals to not be tied up with so much data and paper work so there could more focus on the soft skills of students to help them achieve in school.
Representative Jim DeCesare said he would encourage legislators and educators to keep an open mind in regards to education. Also, there should be some consideration of limiting regulations and mandates for public schools in Kentucky.
In response to Senator Jimmy Higdon’s question regarding alternate assessments for low-performing schools, Mr. McKim said it would be a good idea to offer the idea of alternate assessments and flexibility to low-performing schools as well as schools that are involved with the districts of innovation.
In response to Representative Linda Belcher’s question regarding schools of innovation in Jefferson County, Mr. McKim said Jefferson County currently has two new schools of innovation that are opened and one school in the design phase.
Representative Belcher said school boards and central offices should come together and give expectations for schools in the district. Also, schools should cut down on the number of students they suspend by designing a program so those students do not miss school.
Representative Derrick Graham commended Chairman Mike Wilson for the ideas and excellent discussion brought before the committee and said he looks forward to future conversations with him on educational issues.
Chairman Mike Wilson said he stands ready to work with Representative Graham in the future and would like to come together on educational issues that need to be changed.
Review of Administrative Regulations
Kevin Brown, Associate Commissioner and General Counsel, KDE, explained administrative regulation 704 KAR 3:370 regarding the professional growth and effectiveness system. Also, Mr. Brown explained the proposed amendment to the regulation. The proposed amendment gives school districts an option to use a technology platform provided by KDE or use other resources at the school districts discretion.
In response to Representative Jim DeCesare’s question regarding the agency amendment to the regulation, Mr. Brown said the language removed by agency amendment would not be reimplemented until the State Board of Education revised the regulation. If the amendment to the regulation is approved by the committee, professional growth would not be included as 10 percent of the state accountability system.
Representative Kelly Flood made a motion to accept the amendment to Administrative Regulation 704 KAR 3:370, and Representative Linda Belcher seconded that motion. A voice vote approved the motion.
There was no action taken on 704 KAR 5:070.
Review of Executive Order 2015-422
There was no action taken on the executive order.
With no further business before the committee, the meeting adjourned at 3:06 p.m.