Thursday, June 16, 2011

New Associate Commissioner at KDE knows about turning around low-performing schools

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) just announced that former J.B. Atkinson Elementary School Principal Dewey Hensley has just been named an associate commissioner at the department.

Hensley is being placed in charge of efforts to “support low-performing schools and districts that are identified for educational recovery based on state and federal guidelines and requirements. The office includes the Division of Student Success, which is focused on alternative education programs and virtual delivery of instruction.”

Hensley should offer outstanding potential in his new position. He knows Louisville, where the majority of the state’s lowest performing schools are located. He knows how to improve schools. And, he has excellent contacts with the very forward-thinking education school at the University of Louisville, which actually conducts college courses for student teachers inside of Atkinson Elementary.

We highlighted Hensley and his school several times in the Bluegrass Policy Blog here and here.

You can hear Hensley talk about his activities in J.B. Atkinson in this video.

Dewey Hensley- Principal of Atkinson Elementary from CTL on Vimeo.



If Hensley gets the support he deserves, his new job should really make a difference for a whole lot of Kentucky kids.

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