Urgent, breaking news
Happy Hall Pass day! Let’s head straight into the news.
Mark your calendars
If you are reading this before 10 a.m. Eastern Tuesday, congratulations! Your commitment to The Hall Pass is being rewarded in the form of knowing to throw two events on your agenda for this morning.
First, Kentucky’s 2023 Teacher of the Year will be named at 10 a.m. in the Capitol Rotunda in Frankfort. This round’s 11 semifinalists will first find out who is the TOY for each grade level, followed by the all-around champ.
Then, the Interim Joint Committee on Education will learn about an apprenticeship program in Tennessee aiming to restock the teacher pipeline.
Another thing to add to your planner (even you, latecomers): The Courier Journal’s second school board candidate forum is happening Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. If you live in the area currently represented by Linda Duncan, swing by the Fairdale library and hear from your candidates.
Do you remember? The 21st night of September?!
Everybody stay calm: it might actually not be a drill this time.
Senate Education Chairman Max Wise is widely expected to be Kelly Craft’s running mate. While we may have been trolled before — now known as “Maxxed” — it looks like his announcement may come Wednesday night.
A “special event” featuring Craft and Wise is planned on Wise’s home turf in Campbellsville.
Why is this a big deal? First, it would be the first Republican campaign to tap a running mate.
Second, and someone challenged me on this already so this might be a hot take, getting Wise would signal Craft’s campaign is taking education seriously. Despite the crowded Republican field, little has been said about actual policy, including education policy. Bringing the Senate Education Chair onboard would effectively be a policy statement.
How long does an air quality test take?
Apparently several weeks.
JCPS told families Monday that the air at Central High School, which has been under renovation for months, is safe to breathe.
This comes after pressure from teachers to conduct an air quality test, starting when they walked into the school a day before classes began to see what one educator called a “war zone.”
Some tied to the school are skeptical of the latest development. The full results have not been released yet, so maybe stay tuned on this one.
Scoring the scores
Education policy wonks, rejoice, for drama brewed but was ultimately avoided.
For better or for worse, Kentucky’s standardized test scores are scheduled to be released in mid-October. Schools will once again be held to a state accountability system, this time getting color markers to show their performance rather than the short-lived star system (RIP).
In order to assign schools a color, there needs to be buckets of performance levels assigned to each color. Those buckets are created through cut-off scores.
A committee of a few dozen signed off on the cut-off scores last week, sending them to Education Commissioner Jason Glass and a group of superintendents for final approval.
Cue the drama. Some superintendents felt the recommended cut scores put too many schools in the lower performance categories. Moving the scores to create more of a bell curve would have meant they were less reflective of a school’s actual performance.
Ultimately, the cut scores passed and will be used in October.
Your homework
Tell a friend to subscribe to The Hall Pass!
OK, bye.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Urgent, breaking news
