Kentucky charter schools will have five-year contracts and be able to seek renewal for additional years.Charter authorizer will be able to refuse to renew a charter school’s contract if the school:

• Fails to “meet or make significant progress toward” performance expectations
• Persistently fails to correct violations of its contract, the charter school law, or financial management standards
• Substantially violates material provisions of laws that apply to the charter school.

There will be a formal process for hearing evidence for and against renewal, and renewal decisions will be subject to appeal to the Kentucky Board of Education.Before the five-year renewal decision, the charter authorizer will be able to revoke a charter school’s contract immediately if a violation threatens student health and safety.That is a very narrow rule for revocation before the renewal date . It’s possible to imagine a charter school that provides health, safety, and instruction that is very brief or very weak or very far out of line with state standards or very different from what was promised in the application and the charter contract. Under Kentucky’s charter school law, there isn’t an explicit provision that allows the authorizer to close a school that is operating with that kind of problem.There may be other ways to address severe problem. The authorizer (or any other concerned anyone) can call on the charter school to fix the weakness, and the charter school may respond seriously. If that does not work, the authorizer may be able to sue under the breached contract. Or parents may be able to go to court. Federal procedures may help, particularly if the problems affect the rights of students with disabilities. State accountability procedures may also kick in if the school’s scores are especially weak or its assessment implementation doesn’t follow state requirements.Even so, charter schools will have some important insulation from their critics, because voters cannot vote out a charter’s board and because only that board can evaluate or fire charter school leaders.That narrow provision for revocation means that best time to check that a charter school is going to be able to good work is at the beginning, in the application phase. Authorizers should be looking for charters led by people with relevant knowledge and skill, instructional designs that show deep understanding, and operation plans that allow robust implementation. Rejecting applications that don’t show those things will also be an important step in making sure each charter school has the capacity to contribute excellence and equity to Kentucky’s system of common schools.

Legal

Series Links:

Charter schools: taking on the questions (Introduction)

1. What is a charter school?

‍2. What student results are charter schools expected to deliver?

‍3. Which school laws do charter schools have to follow?

‍4. How can students be admitted to charter schools?

‍5. Who can authorize charter schools?

‍6. Who can apply to start a charter school?

‍7. How can charter schools be closed if they do not deliver?

‍8. What funding can charter schools receive?

Adding new questions about charter schools (Conclusion)

State law on charter schools  has two kinds of requirements for student results:First, Kentucky’s school accountability system will apply. That system includes student assessments, other kinds of data, school ratings, and support and improvement actions when schools have especially weak results. It’s clear that charter schools will be part of that system, both because Kentucky charter laws say so and because it’s a core federal requirement set in ESSA (the Every Student Succeeds Act passed in 2015).Second, a performance framework will be required. Each charter school will operate under a contract with its authorizer, and Kentucky law requires the performance framework to be in the contract. That framework will include student academic proficiency and growth, achievement gaps, and college or career readiness at the end of grade 12, and it will also include data on school operations and on student attendance, suspensions, withdrawals, exits, and continuing enrollment from year to year. Those “performance indicators, measures, and metrics” will be used by the authorizer to evaluate the charter school.Neither element will implement itself, so here come two concerns about the work ahead.

Accountability Roles to Build Up

Kentucky’s current rules for support and improvement at schools with low results were designed for multi-layered governance that includes a principal, a school council, a superintendent, and a school board. Accordingly, there are key steps where the principal needs the superintendent’s sign-off or plans designed at the school level needs approval at the board level. Similarly, if a school has ongoing weaknesses, it is supposed to receive additional support from its district.Charter schools will not have those layers and roles. They may only have the required charter board and one instructional leader. If that leader gets to act as principal and superintendent, that collapses a layer of checks and balances. If the charter board is both author and approver of the school improvement plan, that would also drop a layer of oversight out of the system.Bluntly, if Kentucky is going to stand up solo schools, separated from a network of leadership roles, we need to stand up a plan for who’s going to bring help and fresh thinking if the school needs support.

Frameworks and Firmness

The framework approach will require authorizer focus and follow-through. Before signing the contract, the authorizer should be the body checking that each performance entry is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Once the contract is in place, the authorizer needs to implement a regular process of reviewing evidence on those performance issues. There will also be puzzles on what to do if the school’s actual performance is a little or a long way below the framework’s expectations.The charter concept is supposed to be a trade where the charter accepts accountability in exchange for autonomy. For that to be an honest trade, the accountability part has to work. If accountability data shows a charter school to be deeply troubled, that warrants a step-by-step plan as strong as we have for other schools, with roles as clear and settled as the ones we apply to other institutions. Similarly, for a performance framework to have any impact at all, it has to be clear at the outset and checked consistently throughout the contract.

Legal Sources: KRS 160.1596 requires the targets and the framework. KRS 160.1593 requires the assessment plan.

Series Links:

Charter schools: taking on the questions (Introduction)

1. What is a charter school?

‍2. What student results are charter schools expected to deliver?

‍3. Which school laws do charter schools have to follow?

‍4. How can students be admitted to charter schools?

‍5. Who can authorize charter schools?

‍6. Who can apply to start a charter school?

‍7. How can charter schools be closed if they do not deliver?

‍8. What funding can charter schools receive?

Adding new questions about charter schools (Conclusion)

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Under  Kentucky law, a public charter school will be one that:

• Serves students whose families apply, with a lottery to award seats if there are too many applications
• Is governed by a board of directors
• Receives authorization and oversight from another public agency: a school board, mayor, university board, or collective of school board members
• Gets its funding mainly through tax dollars allocated based on the students it enrolls
• Is subject to rules on school accountability, health, safety, civil rights, disability rights, and data reporting that apply to all Kentucky schools
• Is exempt from some other rules and regulations

Legally, a Kentucky public charter school will be “a public body corporate and politic,” which will make it a kind of government agency, rather than a private corporation subject to for-profit or non-profit regulations. Kentucky has other entities that are set up as public bodies corporate and politic, including the Kentucky lottery corporation, water commissions, and urban renewal and community development agencies.Practically, a charter school differs from more familiar public schools because the local school district doesn’t have the same kinds of control. For example, the school board cannot decrease funding or reassign students, and the superintendent has no role in evaluating, promoting, disciplining, or dismissing the school’s staff. If the local school board is the authorizer, it will have a limited role in overseeing the charter school and evaluating evidence on whether the school should be renewed at the end of its contract: much smaller than the board’s role with other district schools.Kentucky law also defines three specific kinds of charter schools:

• An urban academy is “a public charter school that includes an enrollment preference for students who live in close proximity to the school as defined in the charter contract.” In the pilot program created by 2022’s House Bill 9, the pilot charter schools in Jefferson County and Northern Kentucky must serve as urban academies.
• A virtual public charter school is “a public charter school that offers educational services primarily or completely through an online program.” Kentucky law spells out that virtual charter schools are not allowed.
• A conversion public charter school is an existing public school that converts to work under the charter school rules. If a school’s results are in the lowest 5% of all schools at its level, it can become a conversion charter and 60% of parents and guardians of its students sign a petition for conversion. If a school’s results are not in the lowest 5%, it can become a conversion charter if 60% of parents seek conversion, and the local school board approves the change. And a local school board can vote at any time votes to convert an existing public school over which it has authority to a charter school.

Legal Sources: KRS 160.1590 defines public charter schools and other key terms for those schools. 2022’s House Bill 9 amended paragraph (g) of the main charter definition and added the definition for an urban academy.

Series Links:

Charter schools: taking on the questions (Introduction)

1. What is a charter school?

‍2. What student results are charter schools expected to deliver?

‍3. Which school laws do charter schools have to follow?

‍4. How can students be admitted to charter schools?

‍5. Who can authorize charter schools?

‍6. Who can apply to start a charter school?

‍7. How can charter schools be closed if they do not deliver?

‍8. What funding can charter schools receive?

Adding new questions about charter schools (Conclusion)

The Prichard Committee’s position on charter’s schools has been consistent since 2015: Kentucky doesn’t need charter schools to improve student outcomes. However, if done well, research shows public charter schools can be a tool in the toolbox to increase student outcomes, particularly for historically marginalized students in urban areas. To ensure public charter schools are done well, legislation should require high levels of transparency, strong and effective oversight, and accountability equal to or greater than that of traditional public schools. ‍

The pilot program in House Bill 9 is not set up with legislative language ensuring these initial charters will be done well. With the expected passage of House Bill 9 by the Senate, it’s important that legislative sponsors send a clear message regarding the quality of these pilot applicants for a public charter in Louisville and northern Kentucky. There should be no less expectation that these early public charter schools meet the quality criteria laid out in Section 4 of the bill. In fact, nothing less than quality should do – and surely nothing less will do for Kentucky’s students.A key principle of our position on charter schools is that funding for public charter schools should not diminish the resources available to school districts to educate and increase achievement for all students. Any proposal must guarantee that schools and districts are adequately and equitably funded according to Kentucky law as outlined in Rose v. Council for Better Education.

‍We urge the House and the Senate to come to a budget agreement that fully funds kindergarten and school transportation – helping pull Kentucky out of the bottom third of the nation for investment in K-12 education and freeing up local taxpayer dollars, currently going to pay for those services. Preparing each and every student for success in the future economy must be an imperative – for our communities and policy-makers alike. Nothing less than good policy, effective practice, and strong investment will do to ensure a prosperous future for all Kentuckians.

Brigitte BlomPrichard Committee for Academic Excellence

Statement by Brigitte BlomPresident & CEO of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence

The Prichard Committee has not been a proponent nor an opponent of public charter schools. We believe that is the wrong question. Rather, the question we ask is: How do we close longstanding and persistent achievement gaps in our state?When analyzing the research on charter school effectiveness, The Center for Research on Student Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University is still the gold standard. Their research shows clear evidence to support charter schools as a tool in closing achievement gaps for historically marginalized students, particularly in urban areas. CREDO found that the typical student in an urban charter school receives the equivalent of 40 additional days of learning growth in math and 28 days of additional growth in reading.Further, CREDO’s research outlines important components to ensuring strong legislation, including high levels of transparency, oversight, and accountability. As the public charter sector has evolved in other states, it’s clear that local collaboration between the charter and the public school district where students reside is important. I layout the parameters for a high-performing charter sector in this op-ed with John King, former United States Secretary of Education: Set high standards for Kentucky charter schools, July 2017.Research shows there are also some components of charter sectors which have potentially negative impacts on student outcomes. They include: The creation and management of charter schools by for-profit entities and virtual charter schools. We are opposed to those allowances in any Kentucky charter bill.The Committee believes strongly that Kentucky’s law must have the clear goal of closing gaps in student achievement and that Kentucky charter schools should be required to meet the same standards of rigor regarding teaching, learning, and accountability to which all public schools across the state are held.Funding for charter schools should not diminish the resources currently available to school districts to educate and increase achievement for all students. Any proposal must guarantee that schools and districts remain adequately and equitably funded according to Kentucky law as outlined in Rose v. Council for Better Education.In reviewing HB9, we ask legislators to do the following:

1. Require public charter schools to make free breakfasts and free lunches available to students who qualify for federal free breakfasts and free lunches and reduced-price lunches.
2. Require that postsecondary authorizers are Kentucky public or private postsecondary institutions only.
3. Require charter school contracts to include provisions to revoke or not renew based on measures of adequate education progress, poor fiscal management, or violation of law – in addition to health and safety violations.
4. Remove the inclusion of Education Opportunity Accounts from House Bill 9.

The continued inclusion of Education Opportunity Accounts would lead us to oppose HB 9 in its entirety. To date, no comprehensive, unbiased research exists to support EOAs as a wise use of state investment to improve overall education outcomes. Further, private schools are not held accountable for education progress as the public system is.As one of very few states left without charter schools, Kentucky is in an excellent position to learn from the experiences of other states and incorporate into legislation what has worked to ensure quality in other states. With the amendments requested above, HB 9 does that. It is crucial that House Bill 9 serves to close identified achievement gaps and increases Kentucky’s education outcomes. The amendments we recommend will help assure Kentuckians the charter sector is operating with those priorities as the goal.The Prichard Committee does not believe public charter schools are necessary in Kentucky to continue to improve education outcomes and close persistent achievement gaps. However, as a tool in the toolbox, a strong and effective charter school may be able to significantly increase student academic success – and begin to close achievement gaps. Therefore, we do not oppose the concept and urge policymaker focus on ensuring well-regulated and fully accountable charter schools.

Greater Owensboro has a strong heritage of joining together to solve challenges and build better lives for our citizens. We are a community rich in opportunity, poised for growth in the years and decades ahead because of our can-do spirit.

The time is right to build upon these successes and take the next steps to make Greater Owensboro the best place to learn, live, work, and play. The research is clear – the path to opportunity for all begins with the start we provide to our youngest children ages 0-8.

Access to early childhood education is critical to the success of Greater Owensboro. Exposure to high quality early childhood education has shown to close gaps in achievement for all children throughout their educational and life experiences. Children who participate in early learning arrive at kindergarten prepared, ultimately increasing their likelihood of securing proficiency in reading and math by the close of the third grade. Such gains in early learning mean that these same children are 40% less likely to drop out of high school.¹

Providing early childhood education access builds the future workforce of the community, while supporting Greater Owensboro’s current workforce. The lack of available early childhood education has substantial annual costs in lost earnings, business productivity, and tax revenue. In Kentucky, the lack of high quality and affordable early childhood education for working families accounts for $573 million in lost earnings, business productivity, and tax revenue. ²

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Investments in high-quality early childhood education result in higher rates of educational attainment, a reduction in health costs, a reduction in the incidence of crime, less demand for social welfare services, and a more competitive local economy for Greater Owensboro.

All in the community stand to gain from this work. Nobel Laureate economist James Heckman released research in 2016 that found: Every dollar spent on high-quality, birth-to-five programs for disadvantaged children delivers a 13% annual return on investment. Children are not the only beneficiaries – the economic benefits of the additional wages earned by parents with access to high-quality care are capable of paying for any costs associated with developing a high quality early childhood education system.³

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In response to this data, The Public Life Foundation of Owensboro asked a broad array of local stakeholders to join the Greater Owensboro Partnership for Early Development, which over an eight-month period:

• Met seven times for in-depth discussion and review of early childhood education (ECE) research.
• Examined Greater Owensboro’s ECE landscape and access to ECE programs for children from birth to age 5.
• Considered opportunities, challenges, and costs to re-imagine the early childhood ecosystem of Greater Owensboro.
• Discussed lessons learned from other communities with innovative ECE models; and
• Developed recommendations to significantly expand access to ECE programs over the next 5 years, creating a pathway forward for all Greater Owensboro children to have the opportunity for quality early learning to thrive in school and life.

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Current ECE Landscape

To gauge the current accessibility of high quality early childhood education throughout Greater Owensboro, the committee consulted with The Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence and The Martin School of Public Policy at the University of Kentucky. The Greater Owensboro ECE landscape analysis found:

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1. Significant gaps exist in Kindergarten-readiness for children throughout Greater Owensboro.

• On average, approximately 49% of Greater Owensboro students arrived at Kindergarten unprepared as reported by the Brigance screener in 2019-2020.
• On average, approximately 59% of economically disadvantaged students, 76% of students with disabilities, and 75% of English learning students arrived at kindergarten unprepared in Greater Owensboro.

Source: 2019-20 Kentucky School Report Card

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2. Greater Owensboro students who score below the kindergarten readiness level have a strong likelihood of failing to reach proficiency on the 3rd grade reading test.

• On average, 46.9% of Greater Owensboro students failed to reach reading proficiency by the close of 3rd grade as reported by 2018-2019 K-PREP scores.
• On average, approximately 55% of economically disadvantaged students, 69% of students with disabilities, and 63.5% of English learning students failed to reach reading proficiency by the close of 3rd grade in Greater Owensboro.
• Students who do not score Ready on the kindergarten readiness screener have a weaker likelihood of scoring proficient or distinguished on the 3rd grade reading test.

Source: 2018-19 Kentucky School Report Card

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Students who scored below the readiness threshold in 2016 were highly likely to be retained before 3rd grade or to score novice or apprentice on the 3rd grade reading assessment. Meanwhile, students who met the kindergarten readiness standard were more likely to meet proficiency.

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3. Only about 20% of Greater Owensboro children under age 5 have access to ECE services.

• The U.S. Census estimates that 6,773 children under the age of 5 reside in Greater Owensboro.
• Kentucky’s 2020 Early Childhood Profile estimates that across Greater Owensboro:
  • 267 children receive care in self-contained Head Start or Early Head Start programs.
  • 383 children are served through Head Start and Public Preschool or in blended programs.
  • 700 children are served in a self-contained Public Preschool program.
  • Of 6,773 children in Greater Owensboro, only 1,350 are enrolled in the above ECE services.
• Additionally, there are 39 licensed child care centers that serve children under the age of 5, as well as one certified family child care home in Greater Owensboro.
• While collectively these providers are permitted to enroll no more than 3,787 children, it is likely that actual enrollment is below this capacity limit.
• The Early Childhood Profile indicates that 613 Greater Owensboro children received support through the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) in 2021. These data are our only indicator of private child care enrollment.

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Public Preschool

• Daviess County Public Schools has Public Preschool classrooms in 12 elementary schools. Owensboro Public Schools operates the program in partnership with Head Start in the Hager Preschool and Seven Hills Preschool.
• The standard state model includes a half-day program four days a week, with the fifth day reserved for teachers to meet with families, prepare curriculum materials, and evaluate data.
• Prior to March 2020, Daviess County used the standard half-day, 4 day a week model, Owensboro has been able to operate a full-day, 5-day-a-week model through its partnership with Head Start.
• The 2019-20 Kentucky School Report Card shows that a total of 720 children attended preschool in Daviess County and 218 attended preschool in Owensboro Public Schools.

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Child Care

• Data from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services as of July 2021 includes 39 licensed child care centers that serve students under the age of 5, as well as one certified family child care home.
• In total, these providers are permitted to enroll no more than 3,787 children.
• While Daviess County is not a child care desert, the data broken down by Census tract suggest that certain areas of the county may be child care deserts, most dramatically in the northwest part of the county.
• The Early Childhood Profile indicates that only 613 Daviess County children received support through the Child Care Assistance Program despite 3,434 children under age 6 living at or below 150% of the federal poverty level.
• On average Daviess County families pay about $7,800/year for infants, $7,670 for toddlers, and $7,280/year for preschool children to attend private child care centers.

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Early Head Start and Head Start

• Audubon Area Community Services is one of 25 programs in the nation to receive national Program of Excellence designation by the National Head Start Association. It offers full-day, year-around services in 10 sites across the county, as well as a home-based visiting model.
• Gaps are most pronounced for infants and toddlers, with the number of eligible children well exceeding the availability of Early Head Start slots.
• According to Audubon’s 2018 Needs Assessment for Daviess County, an estimated 822 infants and toddlers in Daviess County are eligible for Early Head Start, with funding for 120 slots.
• 551 young children in Daviess County are estimated to be eligible for Head Start, with 357 funded slots.

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4. Access to Quality ECE Services is Not Universal

• A range of quality in licensed and certified ECE services exists in Daviess County as defined by programs participating in Kentucky’s All STARS system.
• Daviess County has 8 child care providers at four or five stars (these include licensed Early Head Start and Head Start sites).
• 14 public preschool programs have reached five stars.

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5. Disparities in Workforce Development & Professional Pay Create Gaps in Access to Quality ECE Services

• According to the Labor Market Information Report from the Kentucky Center for Statistics, across the Green River Local Workforce Area, an estimated 650 individuals are employed as child care workers.
• Their mean hourly wage is $10.21 and median is $9.77. In Kentucky, child care educators must have a high school diploma or equivalent, but they can access state-funded scholarships to receive a Certified Development Associate (CDA) credential.
• In Head Start and Early Head Start programs in Daviess County, all teachers have bachelor’s degrees and all assistants must receive a CDA in their first year on the job.
• Preschool teachers in the public schools receive the same salaries and benefits of K-12 teachers according to each district’s salary schedule and compensation package.
• They must have a bachelor’s degree with an Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education (IECE) teaching certificate, which prepares them in early childhood development and special education.

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The Greater Owensboro Partnership for Early Development’s 6-Point Plan ECE Services

Recommendation 1: Launch a public advocacy campaign to encourage community-wide support of quality Early Childhood Education.

Every community member in Daviess County – families, educators, business owners, and community leaders – must understand how access to quality ECE services benefits not only parents with young children, but the community as a whole.

Recommendation 2: Implement Early Childhood Education talent development and retention strategies to meet Early Childhood Education workforce needs.

The Governor’s Office for Early Childhood developed an innovative apprenticeship program aimed at developing high quality ECE educators for students in their final two years of high school. Students can earn an ECE credential under the direction of an ECE mentor during a co-op experience. A similar program exists for adults interested in earning a child care director credential.

Individuals enrolled in either program are eligible to receive a full-tuition scholarship for an Associate’s Bachelor’s, and/or Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education through Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority.
State resources currently exist to build a high quality ECE workforce in Daviess County.

Recommendation 3: Implement employee-based child care partnerships among employers and child care centers.

Small, midsize, and large businesses can be incentivized to offer child care employee-benefits to all employees. Public-private partnerships, federal tax incentives, and a matching grant available through the Kentucky Division of Child Care are each pathways to growing child care benefits for Greater Owensboro employers.

Recommendation 4: Identify and enroll all families eligible for the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) subsidy and sustain CCAP eligibility to 200% of the federal poverty level and make all children within 200% of the federal poverty level eligible for public preschool.

Innovative community partnerships with organizations such as The Center of Owensboro, Audubon Area Community Services, and/or Owensboro Public Schools/Daviess County Schools can close gaps in access for enrollment in the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) for families at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.

Additionally, community groups such as the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce can advocate for the Kentucky Legislature to make CCAP eligibility at 200% of the federal poverty level permanent and to raise public preschool eligibility to 200% of the federal poverty level to reduce barriers to ECE learning for low and middle income families.

Recommendation 5: Raise the quality of all child care centers to 3 STARS or above and clear the Head Start, preschool, and child care waiting lists for all children under age 5.

The Daviess County Child Care Community Council can partner with entities such as Child Care Aware and/or Lakeshore Learning to coach child care centers rated below 3 STARS to raise their quality ratings.

Audubon Area Early Head Start and Head Start, Owensboro Public Schools, Daviess County Schools, and the Daviess County Child Care Community Council can be surveyed to compile a list of families currently on their waiting list. Local philanthropy can be utilized to minimize barriers to ECE entry and secure a funding source to clear waiting lists.

Recommendation 6: Utilize data to monitor for continuous improvement of educational outcomes for children enrolled in Early Childhood Education programs.

The research is clear that access to high quality ECE services for children under the age of 5 increases kindergarten-readiness and proficiency in literacy and numeracy by the close of the 3rd grade. Kindergarten-readiness and proficiency in literacy and numeracy by the close of the 3rd grade must be evaluated using the appropriate state mandated measures in the years following the implementation of the above recommendations.

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A Call to Action

Quality of life begins with the start we provide to our children. The community partners represented in this body of work stand united to develop an early childhood education system capable of preparing all children to thrive.

The Greater Owensboro Partnership for Early Development understands that the release of this report is only a first step. The change we seek is an investment in the community’s most precious resource – its next generation.

We invite all to join us as we take the next steps together in creating a community in which all children have the opportunity for quality early learning to thrive in school and life. In doing so, we make Greater Owensboro the best place to learn, live, work, and play.

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Greater Owensboro Partnership for Early Development Members by Name and Organization

Dr. Matthew Constant, Superintendent, Owensboro Public Schools
Matthew Robbins, Superintendent, Daviess County Public Schools
Dr. Scott Williams, President, Owensboro Community and Technical College
Dr. Stacy Edds-Ellis, Dean of Academic Affairs, Owensboro Community and Technical College
Pat Jones, Board Member, Owensboro Community and Technical College
Amanda Epley, Director of Child Care, Owensboro Family YMCA
Erica Wade, Executive Director, The Center of Owensboro-Daviess County, Inc.
Sherry Baber, Preschool Coordinator, Owensboro Public Schools
Chris Westerfield, Preschool Coordinator, Daviess County Schools
Candance Castlen Brake, President and CEO, Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce
Hannah Thurman, Director of Talent Programs, Communications, and Events, Executive Director of Leadership
Owensboro, Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce
Brandon Harley, Deputy CEO, Audubon Area Community Services
Amanda Huff, Director, Daviess County Early Childhood Community Council
Keith Cottoner, Executive Director, The H.L. Neblett Community Center
Janet Land, Preschool Director, Settle United Methodist Church
Linda Wahl, Director (Retired), Building Stronger Families
DJ Johnson, Representative, Kentucky House District 13
Suzanne Miles, Majority Caucus Chair, Kentucky House District 7
Clay Ford, Partner, EM Ford
Dr. Thomas Mitzel, President, Kentucky Wesleyan College
Dr. Larry Hostetter, President, Brescia University
Dr. Ashley N. Holland, Chair School of Education, Brescia University
Dr. Nick Brake, Director of Doctoral Studies, Western Kentucky University
Susan Montalvo-Gesser, Executive Director, Catholic Charities of Owensboro
Doug Eberhart, Vice President, Ohio Valley United Way
Stephanie Bertram, Director of Resource Development and Marketing, Ohio Valley United Way
Amy Silvert, Executive Director, Green River Area Community Foundation
Rosemary Conder, Executive Director (Retired), CASA Ohio Valley
Candi Kamuf, R.N. HANDS Program Manager, Green River District Health Department
Keith Sanders, Executive Director, Hager Educational Foundation
David Boeyink, President (Retired), Public Life Foundation of Owensboro
Joe Berry, President, Public Life Foundation of Owensboro
Bruce Hager, Chair, Public Life Foundation of Owensboro
Debbie Zuerner, Director of Community Engagement, Owensboro Health

Partnership Staff:
Benjamin M. Gies, Director of Early Childhood Policy & Practice, The Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence

References

Audubon Area Head Start – Daviess County Community Assessment – 2018 https://www.audubonarea.com/documents/headstart/assessment/18-19%20CA%20Daviess%20County.pdf

Bishop-Josef , S., Beakey, C., Watson, S., & Garrett , T. (2021, June 2). Want to Fix the Economy? Fix the Child Care Crisis: Workers and Employers Feel Pain in Pocketbooks and Productivity . The Infant-Toddler Child Care Crisis Inflicts Economic Damage Across the Nation. https://strongnation.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/602/83bb2275-ce07-4d74-bcee-ff6178daf6bd.pdf?1547054862&inline;%20filename=%22Want%20to%20Grow%20the%20Economy?%20Fix%20the%20Child%20Care%20Crisis.pdf%22

Cost of Child Care – https://www.costofchildcare.org/ Heckman, J., Garcia, J., Leaf, D., Prados, M., Center for the Economics of Human Development at the University of Chicago. The Life Cycle Benefits of an Influential Early Childhood Program. Working Paper 2016-035. (Dec. 2016). https://heckmanequation.org/assets/2017/01/Garcia_Heckman_ Leaf_etal_2016_life-cycle-benefits-ecp_r1-p.pdf

Kentucky School Report Card – www.kyschoolreportcard.com Early Childhood Profile – https://kystats.ky.gov/Latest/ECP

Kentucky Strengthening Families Profile https://cssp.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/KentuckyState-
Profile-2021.pdf

LWA Wage and Employment – https://kystats.ky.gov/KYLMI

Progress and Next Steps for Early Childhood in Kentucky: Birth Through 3rd Grade. The Prichard Committee: Early Childhood Education Study Group, 2015. https://prichardcommittee.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/ECE-Study-Group-Report-2015.pdf.

Sherif, V., Rous, B., & Rojas, J. (2019). Kentucky’s 2019 child care workforce study. Lexington, KY: Human Development Institute, University of Kentucky. https://www.childcareawareky.org/wpcontent/uploads/2020/09/2019-KY-Workforce-Report_Updated_9032019.pdf

2020 Market Rate Report – https://chfs.ky.gov/agencies/dcbs/dcc/Documents/2020marketrate.pdf

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“Participation on the state assessment was lower due to COVID-19 and in-person testing requirements. Comparisons with previous years are not appropriate because number of test takers, changes to the assessment, and modified instructional settings.”

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That’s what the 2021 Kentucky School Report Card website tells you first when you look for this year’s assessment results. The Department of Education clearly think that’s important, and after studying the data for a while, I agree.

Let’s use elementary reading as an example. Kentucky assesses reading in grades 3, 4, and 5. The key facts are that:

• 140,305 students were enrolled in those grades in our public schools last year
• 124,790 of them participated in the elementary reading assessment
• 88.9% is the resulting participation rate (participants divided by enrolled students)
• 11.1% –the other 15,505– did not participate

One big point that there isn’t state-level information on how those 15,505 students are doing in reading.  (May I underline “state-level” for a moment? Classroom teachers observe students as they read and gather evidence that way every day. Many schools also use interim assessments like MAP to get a further look at reading skills. What’s missing is the state assessment data and the easy access community members are used to getting at kyschoolreportcard.com.)

Adding an equity lens, there are definite disproportions in elementary reading, as shown in this chart.

In middle and high school reading, the rates are all lower and the differences are all more severe, as shown in charts at the end of this post. It also looks like the rates are pretty consistently lower in Jefferson County, our largest public school district.

This definitely shapes how I’m thinking about the data on the percent of students who reached proficiency or above in 2021. Those numbers were summarized in Brigitte Blom’s statement this morning [Link: https://prichardcommittee.org/academic-recovery-from-pandemic-will-require-all-hands-on-deck-approach-by-our-communities-families-and-state-leaders/] as well as being available at kyschoolreportcard.com.

First, I read the reporting with caution, now that I understand that many thousands of Kentucky students in the tested grades did not participate. Especially, I’m wary of comparing to past years’ results that assessed more than 95% of students. Those trend comparisons have long been my very first analysis, but this participation issue has changed my approach. That caution is especially strong for thinking about Jefferson results.

Second, I read the numbers with concern: the thousands who didn’t participate may be struggling more than those who did. For example, they may include many of the students who found virtual learning especially hard, whether the issue was broadband access, sharing devices with siblings, being responsible for sibling care, or some quite different challenge.

Third, I remember the thing I said earlier: these results are not the main way educators or families or students themselves work out how the learning is going. Every day in the classroom provides evidence on that: evidence that’s more timely and more nuanced than the test scores will ever be, and evidence that can be used for effective responses in the next hour, next day, and next week.

Finally, though, things get simple again:

• We’re working to provide every learner with the right resources to move forward: resources that include relationships and opportunities as well as supplies and facilities and funding.
• The 2021 results tell us firmly that we need to invest to equip our rising generation. Creating a big bold future will require more than we have invested before and more than we expected before the pandemic: more of our energy and attention and innovation, as well as more of our dollars.
• Whether we’re thinking about the students with no scores, the students with low scores, or the students whose better scores don’t indicate much about their depth of understanding or capacity to put knowledge to work, the last two years have added dramatically to the challenges we must meet.

It’s time to show up for the big new work. It’s time for all hands on deck.

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September 16, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For More Information Contact:
Jessica Fletcher, Senior Director, Communications & External Affairs
(cell) 859-539-0511
jessica.fletcher@prichardcommittee.org

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Bonnie Lash Freeman, a Jefferson County education champion described as “believing in the power of parents,” is the recipient of the 2021 Beverly Nickell Raimondo Leadership Award from the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence.

“Bonnie has been dedicated to the same principles that Beverly held dear, that every parent has a voice,” said Tony Raimondo, husband of the late Beverly Raimondo.

Freeman is retired from the National Center for Families Learning (NCFL). She managed various projects and grants in the areas of family literacy program development, family engagement, trainer development, and elementary and early childhood language and literacy development. Her expertise in program development included NCFL’s Toyota Family Learning Program, the Kentucky Reading Project, the Head Start Family Literacy Project, the Parent-Child Interaction Project, the Prichard Committee Commonwealth Institute for Parent Leadership, and the Chase Building Readers Project. In 2001, Freeman traveled to New Zealand to support the creation of family literacy programs for Pacific Islander and Maori families.

She also served as a commissioner representing Kentucky on the Education Commission of the States. From 2004 to 2008, Bonnie served on the Kentucky Board of Education, where she held leadership roles as chair and vice-chair of the Curriculum and Assessment Committee. Additionally, she has developed and implemented parent workshops and has consulted with citywide family engagement efforts, such as the Annie E. Casey Making Connections Project and the Leadership Louisville Bingham Fellows Program.

Bonnie served on the Prichard Committee Board of Directors from 2018 through September of this year.

“Bonnie is an incredible educator and advocate for equity and racial justice,” said Prichard Committee Member Mary Gwen Wheeler.

The Prichard Committee award is named in honor and memory of Beverly Nickell Raimondo, who was instrumental in the development of the Commonwealth Institute for Parent Leadership in 1997. Since its founding, the institute has trained and supported hundreds of parents as advocates for educational excellence.

“Bev believed that if parents were united in their call for change, it would lead to a Groundswell of improvement that would sweep across the state. Her legacy continues to live through Bonnie’s efforts and parents across Kentucky who work in her honor to advocate for excellent education for each and every student,” said Brigitte Blom, President and CEO of the Prichard Committee.

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The Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence is an independent, nonpartisan, citizen-led organization working to improve education in Kentucky – early childhood through postsecondary.

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In September, the Prichard Committee called for urgent attention to Kentucky’s failure to deliver for Black students, saying “The learners bring talent, knowledge, culture, experience, energy, and potential to our classrooms, and it must be our shared work to ensure that their many gifts are nurtured and richly developed.” While this year’s Kentucky’s 2020 School Report Card provides limited data on student performance, it offers important updates on some of our ongoing failures to nurture and empower Black students in our public schools, including failures in staffing, discipline, gifted and talented identification, advanced coursework, and identification of disabilities.

First, our schools have too few Black teachers. Black students are 10.6% of our public school enrollment, but Black educators are only 3.3% of our faculty. With research showing student benefits from teachers who look like them, this failure of recruitment and retention is a clear weakness in our schools. (In these charts, three shades of purple spotlight African American percentages that are 25%, 50% and 75% below African American students’ share of statewide enrollment. Shades of orange show African American rates that are 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% greater than the students’ share of enrollment.)

Second, Black students receive wildly disproportionate disciplinary consequences: they are less than 11% of all students, but receive more than 30% of reported consequences. Expulsions are the only consequence anywhere near proportionate application. This pattern cannot continue: it signals injustice and exclusion at levels that are clearly systemic failures to welcome, serve, and empower Black Kentucky.

Third, Black students are dramatically underrepresented for most gifted and talented categories, likely meaning that students with important and distinctive abilities are being overlooked and denied opportunities to develop their standout capacities. Dance is the only category in which Black students are included at rates above their share of enrollment.

Fourth, Black students are underrepresented in advanced coursework and more sharply underrepresented in earning potential college credit from that work.  This part of our system is not offering Black learners solid and effective support.

Finally, Kentucky schools identify surprisingly few Black children with speech language impairments and identify disturbingly high numbers of Black children with emotional behavioral disabilities.  Both issues deserve attention to be sure that students are getting supports they need and that they are not being subjected to inappropriate placements and interventions based on implicit bias or overt hostility.

The Kentucky School Report Cards offer similar data for each school and district, though you may need to do your own calculations and comparisons of percentages. I hope you will explore, looking for good news of full inclusion and taking seriously any signs of failure to deliver for the Black students of your own community.

The Prichard Committee’s September statement also offered a starting list of how to dismantle these failures and build more just approaches, calling for “deep work on implicit bias, cultural responsiveness, consistent inclusion, respectful collaboration, sustained leadership, robust funding, and shared commitment to a society that empowers us all.” The newly released 2020 School Report Card places the need for that deep work right in front of us, ready for our steady, intensive engagement so that we can build a big, bold future for Black learners.

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‍October 8, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For More Information Contact:
Jessica Fletcher, Senior Director, Communications & External Affairs
(cell) 859-539-0511
jessica.fletcher@prichardcommittee.org

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Fort Thomas parent recognized with leadership award

LEXINGTON, Ky. – A Fort Thomas parent described as being “a fearless advocate for students and communities” is the recipient of the 2020 Beverly Nickell Raimondo Leadership Award from the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence.

Larry Holladay “truly embodies Beverly’s spirit of a parent leader and she would be proud of the passion which Larry brings to building into other parent leaders,” Julia Pile, Boone County School Board Member, and President of ParentCamp noted in her nomination letter.

A fellow of the Prichard Committee’s Commonwealth Institute for Parent Leadership, which trains parents to help improve the achievement of all students, Holladay served on the Fort Thomas School Board from 2001-2006, was a board member of the Kentucky Association of School Councils from 2001 to 2004, and has been a member of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence since 2012. He currently serves on the Kentucky Collaborative for Families and Schools Advisory Committee and has been collecting stories of family and community engagement across Kentucky in the Volunteer Story Collector series.

“In the mid-1990’s, as I worked as a Distinguished Educator for the state of Kentucky, Larry and I were involved in a new project with the Prichard Committee, with Bev Raimondo herself, as well. This project, the PT3 process, would go on to become a transformative experience for thousands of educators and community members. Larry was instrumental in this work, from the perspective of a parent, community leader, and entrepreneur,“ noted Dr. Karen Cheser, Superintendent of Fort Thomas Independent Schools.

The Prichard Committee award is named in honor and memory of Beverly Nickell Raimondo, who was instrumental in the development of the Commonwealth Institute for Parent Leadership in 1997. Since its founding, the institute has trained and supported hundreds of parents as advocates for educational excellence.

“Bev believed that if parents were united in their call for change, it would lead to a groundswell for reforms that would sweep across the state. Her legacy continues to live through Larry’s efforts and parents across Kentucky that work in her honor to advocate for excellent schools for all of our children,” said Brigitte Blom Ramsey, President and CEO of the Prichard Committee.

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The Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence is an independent, nonpartisan, citizen-led organization working to improve education in Kentucky – early childhood through postsecondary.

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With the release of its report, Inequities in Advanced Coursework, The Education Trust has found that Kentucky schools are radically failing to include Black students in elementary gifted and talented programs.

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The report also shows that Kentucky is the 9th worst in the U.S. when it comes to Black students access to 8th grade Algebra.The report states, "In Kentucky, under-representation in advanced coursework begins early and is especially stark for Black students."Kentucky is one of 11 states – and is the bottom 3 – of states that would need to at least double the enrollment of Black students in gifted & talented programs in order for them to be fairly represented. It is even more troubling that across the Commonwealth, in schools that have  gifted and talented programs, there are only 35 Black students enrolled in it for every 100 Black students who would need to be enrolled for the state to achieve fair representation. We are LAST in the nation in this area.We let African American children fall. We let African American children fail.

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To be last in the nation is simply unacceptable. Under Kentucky state regulations, all students, regardless of race or socioeconomic background, must have a fair shot of entering these valuable programs that recognize high levels of intellect, leadership skills, creativity and artistic talent. This report should be a call to action for all Kentucky citizens to engage in constructive dialogue about how our schools can overcome this shocking racial disparity.It is also highly disappointing that Black students aren't enrolled in higher level math courses such as algebra in 8th grade. The result of lower enrollment among this student group will ultimately lead to lower math mastery later in high school and on into college and the workforce.We let African American children fall. We let African American children fail.The report points to the following causes for these disparities:

1. Resource inequities
2. Educator bias
3. Assessment and grading bias
4. Lack of access to diverse educators
5. Inequitable access to quality early childhood opportunities
6. Lack of communication with families about advanced opportunities

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In my first "Failing to Deliver" blog post, I outlined several steps that we can take to stay focused on sustainable responses that embrace and support the needs of our African American learners and all their classmates. I urge you to revisit that post and give careful consideration to its message.These disparities and problems, among many others in Kentucky's education system, make our case stronger than ever for our Big Bold Ask. To deliver the promise of education excellence for every Kentuckian, regardless of race or socioeconomic background, the Commonwealth must reverse years of budget cuts and lost buying power. Our declining investment in education – and our future – is causing racial disparities such as the ones outlined in Education Trust's report, as well as numerous other issues. It is the reason we are proposing to increase state investment in education – from early childhood to postsecondary – $1 Billion by 2026.Kentucky must address our decline in education outcomes and we must address the disparities in educational outcomes for our African American students. We must do so with great urgency, courage, and commitment. Our state education leaders, legislators, and our communities, must be brave, steady, and focused on sustainable responses that embrace and support the needs of our African American learners and all their classmates.Watch the Ed Blog next week for a more detailed analysis of the EdTrust Report, which will also include information about advanced opportunities for Latino students.

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For further reading:

Inequities in Advanced Coursework: What's driving them and what leaders can do'Racialized tracking' is denying Kentucky's black students gifted and advanced classesHidden talent? JCPS gifted and talented program overlooks artistic students

To deliver the promise of education excellence for every Kentuckian, the Commonwealth must reverse years of budget cuts.

Since the 2008 recession, state investments have declined 33% in higher education; 12% in our K-12 per-pupil funding; and have been inadequate to ensure high-quality early learning for our youngest children.

These declines threaten to reverse the progress Kentucky has made in student success and national rankings in the last generation. To address this, we are proposing to increase state investment in education at all levels by $1 Billion dollars through 2026.

The Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence is asking the Kentucky General Assembly for increased investments in education over the next six years:

• $251 million to provide child care assistance to 23,000 more young children with family incomes below 200% of poverty
• $80 million to provide preschool to 10,000 additional 4-year-olds with family incomes below 200% of poverty
• $140 million to fund all-day kindergarten
• $162 million to fund school transportation fully
• $58 million to create a Fund for Teaching Excellence
• $311 million to implement full Performance-Based Funding for Kentucky’s public universities and community and technical colleges
• $30 million to expand needs-based aid, offering 18,000 more College Access Program (CAP) grants to low-income students

This is our big bold ask.

Can Kentucky afford this?

Yes. If phased in over six years, this investment can be accommodated with natural revenue growth. We can’t afford not to.
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We must have a sense of urgency for improving education for Kentuckians of all ages. Our Commonwealth is 5th from the bottom nationally in poverty. Through education we can break this cycle of poverty and build prosperity for all our families – in the next generation.