Consensus for change in Kentucky education grows

There has been a lot of discussion this year about the lack of progress in Kentucky’s public schools, especially in the most chronically low-performing schools. After attending both Kentucky Board of Education and several legislative committees in the past week, it is my informed opinion that most of our key education policy makers are reaching consensus – what our educators have been doing isn’t working well enough, or fast enough, and people are now open to making major changes.



For example, during last week’s board of education discussion of Louisville’s chronically low performing schools, Joe Brothers, the chair of the Kentucky Board of Education, laid it out plain and simple, saying we have to “face the brutal truth.”

The next day, Brothers provided more evidence of his frustration. As department of education staffers were laying out plans to fix the problems, Brothers impatiently interrupted, saying, “I came on the local board in 1987. What you just said to me is no different than what I heard in 1987. So why should I be hopeful?”

Clearly, Mr. Brothers is ready for something really new.

Our new Commissioner of Education Terry Holliday has quickly grasped the seriousness of the problem. He publicly commented at the board meeting that he has an open mind about change, as well. He freely suggested concepts like charter schools and KIPP Academies could be a way to reform some of the state’s chronic problem schools.

Commissioner Holliday also admitted at the October 13, 2009 Education Assessment and Accountability Review Subcommittee (EAARS) meeting that Kentucky’s lack of real education progress calls for changes.

He told the legislators, “We’re not closing gaps fast enough. We’re not moving our students to proficiency as fast as we need to do so. So, our issue is, what are we going to do differently in the future?”

Ken Draut, Kentucky’s Associate Commissioner for Assessment, also admitted to the EAARS members that the state simply isn’t moving fast enough. During his briefing on last year’s test results, Draut, who has a great deal of responsibility for the state’s testing programs, pointed out that the rate of progress on the Kentucky Core Content Tests for reading and math is much slower than the rates that will be required over the next few years under No Child Left Behind.

Legislators are getting the message.

The EAARS co-chair, State Representative Kent Stevens, commented that, “We can’t be afraid to make a major change, because, obviously, what we’ve been doing for the past few years – it isn’t working anymore.”

And, even an old war horse defender of KERA, State Representative Harry Moberly, is clearly running out of patience. He said, “When you look at our scores, it’s sort of the same old song.” He pointed out that scores drop off from elementary schools to middle schools, and then the high schools, “get sort of pathetic.” He continued, “We were seeing these same things last year, and the year before, as I recall.”

Moberly also said, “I notice the disability category, once again, is making no progress, which has been the case for as many years as I can remember.”

Moberly continued, “Let’s don’t be afraid to be innovative.” He then mentioned “the charter school thing” in a way that indicated he is open to considering them as one of those innovations to fix our most chronically low performing schools.

So, from key executive branch people to key legislators, it looks like a consensus is forming – we cannot afford to continue with the “same old, same old” ideas any longer. They are not working where it counts – for our kids.

Key policy makers seem ready to address fundamentally new approaches, and charter schools are on just about everyone’s lips as an idea that deserves very careful consideration.