KyCCRA Newsletter, December 2015

Welcome to the December 2015 edition of REL Appalachia's Kentucky College and Career Readiness Alliance (KyCCRA) newsletter! In this issue, we feature:

Profile of KyCCRA core planning team member Tina Tipton;
Information on fall events;
Our free Ask REL Appalachia service.

Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season!

Patty Kannapel, KyCCRA Coordinator, REL Appalachia at CNA

Michael Flory, KyCCRA Researcher, REL Appalachia at CNA

Lu Young, KyCCRA Researcher, REL Appalachia at CNA

Profile: Tina Tipton, Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative

KyCCRA's members are REL Appalachia, two state education agencies, and seven regional educational cooperatives serving over 140 school districts. Since the Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative (OVEC) became a member of KyCCRA in summer 2013, it has been adeptly represented by Tina Tipton, OVEC's Chief Academic Officer and Deputy CEO. Tina serves under OVEC CEO Dr. Leon Mooneyhan.

A native of New Castle, KY, and a graduate of Henry County High School, Tina obtained her education credentials from the University of Kentucky. She taught special education in three Kentucky school districts before entering administration in various roles in Shelby County Public Schools, culminating in a five-year term as deputy superintendent. After retiring from Shelby County, Tina served for a year as interim superintendent of Eminence Independent Schools. She began her work with OVEC in 2006, advancing to her current position in 2011.

Known for her boundless energy and enthusiasm, Tina is relentless in her support of the schools and districts served by OVEC. It is not unusual for her colleagues to receive 5 a.m. emails from Tina because she likes to arrive early to get a jump on the business of the day. In addition to her tireless commitment to her work at OVEC, Tina is the proud grandmother of three beloved grandchildren and enjoys spending time with them whenever she can. Tina exudes optimism and encouragement and she never loses sight of the fact that her life's work is devoted to serving children and youth. Tina Tipton has been an invaluable partner to the KyCCRA, and we are grateful for her commitment to and support of the work of our alliance.

Fall 2015 Events

Building Capacity for Action Research in Appalachia

October 12, Hazard, KY

REL Appalachia's ongoing work with the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative (KVEC) to build capacity among KVEC educators to conduct action research included a train-the-trainer workshop on October 12. "Innovation coordinators" from KVEC's Appalachian Renaissance Initiative, who have been charged with supporting teachers in implementing action research, participated in the workshop. REL Appalachia researchers Patty Kannapel and Michael Flory partnered with KVEC staff members Bernadette Carpenter and Abbie Combs to plan and present the workshop, which included materials and activities participants could use for training in their districts.

Two weeks later, Johnson County Public Schools innovation coordinator Noel Crum reported that the workshop had effectively prepared him to support teachers in his district:

The train-the-trainer workshop that REL Appalachia and KVEC provided was one of the best I have attended, not only because it was so thorough, but because resources were provided in such a user-friendly manner that I could go back to my staff and present the training effectively. I consider myself a novice when it comes to action research, but I was able to take those materials back and feel comfortable replicating the training.

Marc Shepherd, a teacher at Johnson Central High School, joined the conversation to affirm that Mr. Crum had provided effective professional development:

You did not seem like a novice. After the training, I thought, 'This is what we already do as teachers--try something new to see if it works better than what we did before.' With action research, it is just a matter of being a little more systematic.

Principal Leadership for Effective Data Use

October 21, Lexington, KY

REL Appalachia is partnering with the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) to support the Principal Partnership Program, a network that offers targeted, differentiated support for new and experienced principals across Kentucky. REL Appalachia's role is to provide support for principal leadership for effective data use. On October 21, REL Appalachia consultant Dr. Jeffrey Wayman facilitated the first workshop in a series of 2015-2016 support activities for participating principals. Attendees included 70 educators representing 27 school districts as well as "critical friend" partners, such as universities and regional educational cooperatives. Participants engaged in activities and discussions focused on building common understandings and distributed leadership for effective data use. KDE coaches will provide support to principals leading up to the next statewide meeting in March, in which REL Appalachia will again partner with KDE.

Dr. Jeffrey Wayman presents an overview of the workshop.

The team from Anderson County engages in an activity to demonstrate the importance of common understandings around data use as KDE coordinator Jenny Ray (standing, left) and KDE coaches circulate.

Rethinking College and Career Readiness and Success

October 26, Shelbyville, KY

During the 2015-2016 school year, OVEC is partnering with REL Appalachia to engage interested school districts in rethinking current definitions of college and career readiness and success (CCRS). Concerned that current state definitions are focused narrowly on standardized test scores, OVEC Deputy CEO Tina Tipton extended an invitation to district leaders to participate in a series of activities to develop locally relevant definitions and measures. Four districts brought teams to the first meeting in Shelbyville, KY, on October 26: Bullitt County, Franklin County, Henry County, and Owen County. University of Louisville faculty, who hope to support this effort over the long term, also attended.

Throughout the morning, district teams developed and revised draft CCRS definitions through conversations based on growing layers of information-Kentucky's legislative definition of college and career readiness, research-based frameworks for organizing CCRS efforts, and sample CCRS definitions from various states. To place equal emphasis on career readiness, OVEC Communications Director Alicia Sells and REL Appalachia researcher Lu Young facilitated a panel of business and career and technical education professionals, who shared their expectations for high school graduates. District teams will take their draft CCRS definitions back to their districts for feedback from various stakeholders. Teams will reconvene in February to refine definitions and consider appropriate measures for these definitions.

The Owen County team drafts a definition of CCRS.

Community panel members Leslie Slaughter, Mark Stallon, and Jim Gajdzik share their views on CCRS.

Just Ask REL Appalachia

REL Appalachia, like Regional Educational Laboratories across the United States, offers a free service for those who wish to learn more about research on specific topics. Educators and others who submit a request to "Ask REL Appalachia" receive an annotated reference list of key literature within four weeks.

To submit a request, go to our website (http://relappalachia.org/) and click the green "Ask REL Appalachia" button in the upper right corner; then enter your name, email address, and question. It's as simple as that!

Check out our newest responses to "Ask REL Appalachia" queries on:

Results of other "Ask REL Appalachia" queries can be found at http://relappalachia.org/news-resources/ask-rel-appalachia-responses/.

For more information about KyCCRA...

Visit the REL Appalachia website: http://relappalachia.org/
Contact Patty Kannapel, kannapelp@cna.org; Michael Flory, florym@cna.org; or Lu Young, youngl@cna.org.

REL Appalachia at CNA| 703-824-2000 | relappalachia@cna.org | www.relappalachia.org