The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) recognized nine schools and one district for best practices during the second annual Continuous Improvement Summit on Tuesday.

Education Commissioner Terry Holliday presented each winner with a $500 check that can be used toward school improvement.

“We have some terrific work going on in our schools and districts,” Holliday said. “Their efforts to create innovative new frameworks for advancing student performance, improving learning conditions, or enhancing organizational effectiveness are commendable. We appreciate their initiative and commitment to continuous improvement, and hope others can learn from it.”

Those recognized along with their best practices were:

  • Daviess County – District and school safety committees including the benefits of district and school safety and the impact on lost time and financial benefit
  • Dayton High School, Dayton Independent – College Signing Day, a process developed to assist families of first-generation college-bound students in making decisions, as well as strategies used to approach postsecondary education
  • Fairdale High School, Jefferson County – FLEX, the Flexible Learning Enrichment and Intervention system, which is designed to help prepare each student for postsecondary education
  • Franklin Simpson High School, Simpson County – Building a culture focused on College/Career Readiness, which promotes student performance through systems of continuous improvement (Curriculum, Professional Development, Intervention, Professional Learning Communities, Environment, and Communication)
  • Hopkins Central High School, Hopkins County – Effective Program Review Procedures, which includes establishing an efficient and effective process for Program Review that ensures accountability for reaching proficiency through school-wide integration of content
  • Livingston Central High School, Livingston County – Using longitudinal data to inform instructional decisions and course selection to best prepare students to be college- and career-ready
  • Murray High School, Murray Independent – Operation Preparation, a program to connect students with professionals in their career choices to impact the student’s decision to remain within his/her career choice
  • Pulaski County High School, Pulaski County – Professional Learning Communities as vehicles for Plan, Do, Study, Act, a learning system strategy that aligns with the classroom
  • Sheldon Clark High School, Martin County – The RED ZONE, using a 30-minute time period as a Tier II intervention practice, which engages students in academic and technical skills through partnership with an ATC to ensure college- and career-readiness
  • Stuart Middle School, Jefferson County – Mentor/Mentee Program, which partners a veteran staff member with new staff members (first- or second-year teachers) in order to provide a systematic approach for supporting new staff member needs

Any Kentucky teacher, school or district may submit a best practice to KDE for consideration. A team of content experts reviews the submission against standards for school improvement and rates it Beginning, Developing, Proficient or Advanced. Feedback is provided to strengthen the submitted initiative, and accepted practices are added to the Best Practices website for others to access as a means of improvement.

“The Best Practice website is a way to share work that not only recognizes those engaged in it, but also allows others in the state to learn from it and improve their practice in support of student learning and college/career-readiness for all our students,” Holliday said.

To date, more than 75 best practices that cover varying areas of school operations have been posted to the website. It can be accessed at: http://odss.education.ky.gov/bestpractices/Default.aspx or by going to the KDE website, www.education.ky.gov, and searching “Best Practices.”

More than 700 educators attended the 2014 Continuous Improvement Summit, which was  sponsored by AdvanceED Kentucky in cooperation with the Kentucky Department of Education.