Union Co. High's "ACTion committee" using Race to the Top funds to improve students college exam preparation, build youth leadership skills
~ from The Gleaner, Henderson, Nov. 23, 2013
Union County schools use 'Kid-friendly' grant to develop leadership skills
By Erin Schmitt
MORGANFIELD, Ky. — It’s a cozy sight in the corridors of Union County High School.
Students can sit at cafe-style high tables or on one of the couches at the school’s “Coffeehouse.” Surrounding this area located not too far from the school’s main office is a plethora of college pamphlets and other valuable postsecondary information.
This is where students can prep for the ACT and other big tests on “Super Saturday” study sessions, and its also where the ACTion committee meets every couple of weeks with the school system’s newly hired college and career ready counselor.
“We come down here to talk about how to get kids ready for the ACT,” explained junior Will Potts.
The 10-member action committee acts as a liaison, speaking with their classmates about what they feel they need to better prepare them for college entry tests and post-graduation plans, and then in turn to educators, so they can relay this information to the school board.
“I’m hoping to improve scores — ACT scores,” said junior Abby Mason. “I’m hoping for everybody to be able to do a little better than they thought they could.”
The ACTion committee and the coffeehouse, which had its official opening a few weeks ago, are part of initiatives spawned by what Union County Public School officials call its “Kid-friendly” grant.
It’s been nearly a year since the Green River Regional Education Cooperative received a $40 million “Race to the Top” grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The cooperative is a collection of about 40 rural Kentucky school districts, including Union County.
The money from the grant is being split among all the school districts, but they won’t know how much each district receives until January.
Union County joined the cooperative about six years ago to provide better resources for teachers, said instructional coach Margie McGraw. Aside from providing professional development and training opportunities, the cooperative helps the districts implement different initiatives.
There are four components to the “Kid-friendly” grant: students as leaders, leaders developing leadership, competency-based teaching and personalized learning for all students. The idea is to make graduates college- and career-ready, which is part of the reason why the district used part of the grant money to hire a college- and career-ready counselor.
The “Leadership in Me” program has been implemented at the elementary schools to help students become leaders. The students have been given data notebooks to keep track of their progress and are encouraged to lead parent-teacher conferences by telling their parents what they’ve achieved and how they’ve accomplished their goals.
Leaders developing leadership is “support for principals to help them make the needed changes in school-based on data,” McGraw said.
There is now a shift in how classes are taught based on state standards. If a child shows a mastery of the standards, they are approved to move to the next step.
It used to be that high school students had to sit in class to earn credit for a specific class. Now there are options where students can test out of a class if they master the standards or, perhaps, enroll in an online course.
~ from The Gleaner, Henderson, Nov. 23, 2013
Union County schools use 'Kid-friendly' grant to develop leadership skills
By Erin Schmitt
MORGANFIELD, Ky. — It’s a cozy sight in the corridors of Union County High School.
Students can sit at cafe-style high tables or on one of the couches at the school’s “Coffeehouse.” Surrounding this area located not too far from the school’s main office is a plethora of college pamphlets and other valuable postsecondary information.
This is where students can prep for the ACT and other big tests on “Super Saturday” study sessions, and its also where the ACTion committee meets every couple of weeks with the school system’s newly hired college and career ready counselor.
“We come down here to talk about how to get kids ready for the ACT,” explained junior Will Potts.
The 10-member action committee acts as a liaison, speaking with their classmates about what they feel they need to better prepare them for college entry tests and post-graduation plans, and then in turn to educators, so they can relay this information to the school board.
“I’m hoping to improve scores — ACT scores,” said junior Abby Mason. “I’m hoping for everybody to be able to do a little better than they thought they could.”
The ACTion committee and the coffeehouse, which had its official opening a few weeks ago, are part of initiatives spawned by what Union County Public School officials call its “Kid-friendly” grant.
It’s been nearly a year since the Green River Regional Education Cooperative received a $40 million “Race to the Top” grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The cooperative is a collection of about 40 rural Kentucky school districts, including Union County.
The money from the grant is being split among all the school districts, but they won’t know how much each district receives until January.
Union County joined the cooperative about six years ago to provide better resources for teachers, said instructional coach Margie McGraw. Aside from providing professional development and training opportunities, the cooperative helps the districts implement different initiatives.
There are four components to the “Kid-friendly” grant: students as leaders, leaders developing leadership, competency-based teaching and personalized learning for all students. The idea is to make graduates college- and career-ready, which is part of the reason why the district used part of the grant money to hire a college- and career-ready counselor.
The “Leadership in Me” program has been implemented at the elementary schools to help students become leaders. The students have been given data notebooks to keep track of their progress and are encouraged to lead parent-teacher conferences by telling their parents what they’ve achieved and how they’ve accomplished their goals.
Leaders developing leadership is “support for principals to help them make the needed changes in school-based on data,” McGraw said.
There is now a shift in how classes are taught based on state standards. If a child shows a mastery of the standards, they are approved to move to the next step.
It used to be that high school students had to sit in class to earn credit for a specific class. Now there are options where students can test out of a class if they master the standards or, perhaps, enroll in an online course.