Kentucky Education Commissioner Wayne Lewis recently was selected to serve as a member of the Hoover Education Success Initiative Practitioner Council at Stanford University.

Kentucky Education Commissioner Wayne Lewis recently was selected to serve as a member of the Hoover Education Success Initiative Practitioner Council at Stanford University. The council focuses on improving research, policy and practice in education to improve learning outcomes in K-12 schools.
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(FRANKFORT, KY) – Kentucky Education Commissioner Wayne Lewis recently was selected to serve as a member of the Hoover Education Success Initiative Practitioner Council at Stanford University. The council focuses on improving research, policy and practice in education to improve learning outcomes in K-12 schools.

The council is a group of elected and appointed education officials representing a dozen states, both sides of the political spectrum, and legislative and executive government branches.

“It is imperative that practitioners and policymakers with different perspectives and backgrounds talk to each other and work together to identify and implement solutions to our education challenges. When we are informed by rigorous social science research and engage with diverse, knowledgeable and experienced teachers and leaders, we tend to make better decisions,” said Lewis. “I am honored by the opportunity to serve and look forward to continued conversation with peers from across the country as the council continues its work.”

Council members include:

  • Gov. McMaster’s Policy Advisor for Ed. Melanie Barton, South Carolina
  • House Education Chairman Robert Behning, Indiana
  • Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education member Holly Boffy
  • Council of Chief State School Officers Deputy Executive Director Stephen Bowen (Maine-based)
  • CEO of ACHIEVE, Mike Cohen (D.C.-based)
  • State Rep. Ashton Clemmons, North Carolina
  • State Sen. Manny Diaz, Florida
  • Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, Ohio
  • State Secretary of Education Johnny Key, Arkansas
  • CEO of ExcelinEd, Patricia Levesque (Florida-based)
  • CEO of Chiefs For Change, Mike Magee (Providence-based)
  • CEO, National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (Former State Commissioner) Candice McQueen, Tennessee
  • State Board of Education Member Angelika Schroeder, Colorado
  • State Board of Education Member David Steiner, Maryland
  • Founding Partner @ Education First Jenn Vranek (Seattle-based)
  • State Superintendent of Education Carey Wright, Mississippi

Lewis also is representing the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) this week at the University Principal Preparation Initiative Professional Learning Community meeting in New York. Lewis, along with Kentucky superintendents and representatives from the Green River Regional Educational Cooperative and Western Kentucky University, are reviewing national research on programs to promote principal pipelines, and discussing alignment of teacher and principal preparation in states and regions.

Lewis will return to Kentucky on Tuesday, where he will deliver the State of Education in the Commonwealth address at KDE headquarters in Frankfort. The address will highlight recent K-PREP, ACT and NAEP test scores, transition readiness and current trends in Kentucky education.

During the address, Lewis will present four awards for innovation and excellence in educational leadership and also speak about the work of the department in 2019 and what’s to come in 2020. The address will be livestreamed on KDE’s media portal.