As we usher in the new school year, I extend a warm welcome back to each of you. It is with great anticipation and enthusiasm that we at the Kentucky Educational Development Corporation look forward to another year of collaboration, innovation, and shared success.

At KEDC, we remain steadfast in our commitment to supporting you and your districts. Our goal is to provide you with the resources, professional development, and strategic initiatives that empower you to lead effectively and inspire your teams. We are here to assist you in navigating challenges, celebrating achievements, and implementing innovative practices that enhance educational outcomes.

I encourage you to make the most of our collaborative network. Share your successes, seek advice, and engage with your fellow superintendents. Together, we can overcome obstacles and create a robust educational landscape that benefits every student in Kentucky.

Thank you for your unwavering commitment to excellence in education. I am confident that with your leadership, this school year will be marked by progress, resilience, and extraordinary achievements.

Best wishes for a successful and rewarding school year!

In Service,

Mrs. H

CEO, Kentucky Educational Development Corporation

Each year a group of students, whose teachers participate in a KEDC American History & Civics grant, have the opportunity to spend a week in Washington, DC. This year 36 students and their teachers from 6 different districts spent the week with a historical guide visiting monuments, memorials, museums, and sites as a hands-on learning experience they aren't likely to ever forget.

Every Summer, Mrs. H throws a Summer Fun day in the mix. We are thankful for her leadership, who also sees the value in a time to laugh and have fun with the work family. This year's theme was a Carnival; boy, did the kids enjoy it—some adults, hence Charles Rutledge, below with the water balloons. We want to thank Terri White for organizing the event.

Partnerships were key in bringing national and local speakers to PreK-2 educators and daycare workers in our region. The Early Childhood Summer Conference featured two days of sessions focused on supporting and teaching young children.

We are gearing up for the new school year with 70 homeschool students, seven students enrolled in dual credit courses with MSU and one participating in the virtual computer science program through We Lead.

We're excited to share an update on our KEDC Data Initiative! Our goal is to make data tracking easier for all departments, helping us better understand our relationships with districts and improve the services we offer.

We've wrapped up our first year of data tracking and are now preparing district data reports. At the September KEDC Board of Directors Meeting, each district superintendent will receive a summary showing how they’ve utilized KEDC services.

We’re always looking to grow and improve at KEDC. That’s why we're fine-tuning and expanding our data dashboards. Curious to see them? Check them out at https://www.kedc.org/page/kedc-data-dashboard.

If you have any questions about our data initiative, feel free to reach out to our team at dataservices@kedc.org.

Thanks for being a part of this journey with us!

We’re thrilled to announce the launch of the Kentucky Data Exchange (KYDX)! This initiative is a collaboration between KEDC, WKEC, the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation (MSDF), and the Ed-Fi Alliance. We're seeking guidance and input from the Kentucky Department of Education to create a platform that uses data interoperability and the Ed-Fi data standard to visualize whole-child student data for public school districts in Kentucky.

The 2022/2023 School Report Card data shows that nearly one-third of Kentucky students were chronically absent. We all know that attendance is crucial for learning. To support KDE's Chronic Absenteeism Campaign, we're developing a program that uses various data points like attendance, assessment, diagnostic screening, and behavior to visualize trends and predict chronic absenteeism before it starts. These visualizations will help educators identify causes and create effective interventions and solutions to decrease chronic absenteeism in Kentucky schools.

Phase One of the project kicks off in August 2024 and runs through May 2025. During this phase, six pilot districts will use the platform and receive support through in-person coaching from KEDC and WKEC staff. We’ll continually improve the data visualizations based on feedback from pilot districts and focus groups consisting of DPPs and Guidance Counselors.

Phase Two starts in June 2025, with more districts joining the program. However, districts can join earlier on a case-by-case basis.

We’re excited for our official kickoff celebration on September 10-11th at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Lexington. We’ll be welcoming dignitaries from across the state and our partners from MSDF, Ed-Fi, Keen Logic, and EdGraph.

Interested in joining or learning more? Please visit our website (www.kydx.org) or reach out to us at dataservices@kedc.org.

The Kentucky Center for Mathematics (KCM) has partnered with Kentucky Education Development Corporation (KEDC) to provide this professional learning event for Preschool and Kindergarten educators.

FOUNDATIONS FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD MATHEMATICS meets in person for 8 half-day sessions on select Friday mornings from 8:30 am - 11:30 am Eastern.

Participants are expected to attend all 8 sessions and will receive new materials at each session. Here is this cohort's schedule:
1. August 16, 2024
2. September 13, 2024
3. November 1, 2024
4. December 6, 2024
5. January 10, 2025
6. February 7, 2025
7. March 7, 2025
8. March 28, 2025
Please note: If you are unable to attend ANY of the 8 sessions due to an unforeseen emergency or illness, the KCM recommends that someone from your school attend that session in your place so that you do not miss the materials provided and the instruction covered during that session. If that is not possible, you will receive the materials and copies for that session at the next session. If you must withdraw from the course completely after it starts, please contact the KCM at 859-572-7690 or kcm@nku.edu if your school is unable to send a replacement.

This cohort will meet at the KEDC Ashland offices located at 904 Rose Rd, Ashland, KY 41102.

Individual participants will not be invoiced; KEDC will pay the KCM directly for the cost of all the materials provided to participants.

Up to 30 participants will register through KEDC prior to this event, and then attendees will register themselves during the first session using a link provided by the KCM facilitator Julie Adams; that link will take them to the KCM registration and member database system.

KEDC CONTACTS:
Abby Laber - KEDC Coordinator - abby.laber@kedc.org; 606-928-0205
Morgan Erwin - KEDC Administrative Assistant - morgan.erwin@kedc.org; 606-929-2250

KCM CONTACTS:
kcm@nku.edu or 859-572-7690
Julie Adams - julie.adams@kedc.org

KEDC offers several opportunities for school and district support staff to meet with one another to discuss hot topics, trouble shoot with one another, and to share strategies that have been proven successful in their district. These cadres will take place throughout the 2024-2025 school year and many are offered in the KEDC Ashland and Lexington offices. Cadres include Instructional Supervisors, Director of Personnel, Gifted and Talented, Counselors, Transportation Directors and many more. Please click here to see a complete list of the cadres, dates, and location. Please reach out to Latishia.sparks@kedc.org with any questions.

Are you participating in the LETRS initiative in the state of KY? Would you like to use this experience as a method for obtaining a rank change in your career. KEDC is currently enrolling individuals in KEDC’s CEO II Literacy Rank Change Program. Want to know more about the cost, if you are a good candidate, or how to get enrolled? Please visit our website to learn more about the program. Contact abby.laber@kedc.org with any questions.

Discover timely conversations from educators and important partners to increase your knowledge, find inspiration, and get updates on programs and supports accessible to KEDC member districts. Growth is a choice and mindset, and we hope you join us and grow with us! If you have questions are are interested in participating in a future KEDC Podcast episode, please contact: brandy.breeze@kedc.org

Spot the 12 differences and email carla.kersey@kedc.org with your 12 finds. If you are the first to email, you will win a KEDC prize. (Worksheet Provided by Education.com)