|
|
|
|
|
April State Board News
Board Meets in St. Francis and Atwood
The State Board of Education Meeting in April was held in St. Francis
and Atwood. The board toured the nearby districts of Colby, Goodland
and Herndon as part of the meeting. Twice a year the board meets in
a Board Member's district. The April meeting was scheduled for District
5. Connie Morris is the Board Member who represents District 5. Snow
greeted the board for the meetings on Monday and Tuesday. Sunshine
and warmer temperatures were on tap for the final day of the meeting
on Wednesday.
Vote on ELL Standards
The board passed the ELL Standards by an 8 to 0 vote with Carol Rupe
and John Bacon not present. The vote was preceded by a series of amendments
submitted by Connie Morris to include Check Lists and Screening Assessments
into the Standards. After a long discussion the amendments failed
on two 4 to 4 votes. The board and the commissioner decided it to
be appropriate to include both the Check Lists and Screening Assessments
as supplemental materials on the Education Department's Website.
Initial Draft of History/Government Standards
The initial draft of the History/Government Standards and the report
by the external reviewers were received by the board. The presentation
by the department included a description of the suggested changes
in the draft standards that were suggested by both reviewers from
the teaching ranks in Kansas and by external reviewers from universities
outside of Kansas. The board received the same initial draft of the
standards that were received by the reviewers. Changes to the draft
standards made upon the recommendations by the reviewers will be presented
to the board during one of the summer meetings.
Commissioner's Comments
The Commissioner informed the board that Kansas will be one of the
top states in the nation with a very high percentage of its teachers rated as
Highly Qualified under the No Child Left Behind Act. The rating masks a future
problem that has 35% of teachers and 50% of principals and superintendents able
to retire in the next five years. Hiring enough capable and Highly Qualified teachers
could be a serious problem in Kansas in the next five years.
In other action, the State Board:
Approved the Ed-Flex waiver request for USD 249 Frontenac
Approved recommendations from the Professional Practices Commission:
o Denied one emergency sub request
o Denied one teaching license request
Approved certification waivers for:
o USD 259, 1 gifted teacher (renewal)
o USD 364, 2 special education teachers
o USD 379, 2 special education teachers
o USD 385, 1 library media teacher
o USD 400, 1 social studies teacher (renewal)
o USD 457, 1 special education teacher
o USD 480, 1 special education teacher
o USD 490, 2 special education teachers
o USD 610, 1 special education teacher
o USD 611, 4 special education teachers (2 renewals)
o USD 616, 1 special education teacher
Approved request for the following districts to hold bond elections:
o USD 101, Erie-St. Paul
o USD 490, El Dorado
Schools receive accredited status
The following schools received full accreditation status at the April meeting:
USD 233, Fairview and Northview elementaries, Oregon Trail and Santa Fe Trail
JHS; USD 259, Irving and Park elementaries; USD 267, Garden Plain HS; USD
456, Marais des Cygnes ele., MS, and HS; USD 491, Eudora West and Nottingham
elementaries, Eudora MS, and Eudora HS; USD 500 Coronado MS.
|
KNEA Legislative Contacts
Blake West, President
Peg Dunlap, Director, Instructional Advocacy
Mark Desetti, Director, Legislative and Political Advocacy
Terry Forsyth, Director, Political Action
The KNEA Lobby Team consists of elected leaders and staff. The Lobby Team welcomes member feedback on issues before the Legislature and on this site.
|
|
 Archives
|
 Printer friendly
|
 E-mail
|
 Subscibe
|
|
|
