the 2022 session of the Kentucky General Assembly is in the history books.

How did education fair a perspective from Bridget bomb?

The president and CEO of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence.

That's now on connections.

Thank you for joining us for connections today.

I'm Renee Shaw.

I'm talking today with Bridgett Blom president and CEO of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence for nearly 40 years.

The Prichard Committee has studied education issues and inform the public and policymakers on ways to achieve academic excellence and equity for Kentucky children from the earliest years all the way through college.

Miss Blom joins us today to talk about the wins and the losses and education policy during the most recent legislative session.

It's good to see the new version due to Rene.

Thank you.

Nice to be on.

This said it.

Maybe not an adversarial.

Ah, yes, that's the way for us.

But good to see.

You know, yeah.

So how do you rate this most recent legislative session when it comes to education policy?

Good.

Yes.

So if we look at investment, yes, it's been a good session for education by and large.

So strong investment in K 12, strong investment in post-secondary.

>> And a really important bill that passed through the legislature, the read to succeed Act.

minus a couple of of areas that really caused some banks.

It was a good session for education.

So let's start with the winds and the read to succeed Act.

Let's talk about how that helps build on early literacy skills and help kids.

And there was already a previous act that was similar.

But this enhanced is it how?

>> Yes, so the read to succeed act.

I think this was maybe the force here for this type of It establishes a coaching program candidate for K through 3 teachers to scale up around literacy strategies to help ensure that our young Kentucky students, our meeting proficiency standards in So while we've been relatively strong nationally and reaching ace in the nation in 2015, >> we falling back to 26th in recent years and there are some real kind of coaching strategies research base strategies that teachers can benefit from.

And this bill invests in that and invest in the professional development for teachers.

It was sponsored by Senator West of Paris and supported by Representative Tipton in the House.

Yeah.

>> Do we know why we've had those slide since 2015 from being where we were to being 26th?

What accounts for that now?

That's a great question.

And while we don't, we don't know for sure.

There are a couple things we look at over the last decade or so that we could have contributed.

So one is we've had a lot of policy churn over the last decade changes to the accountability model changes to the standards, not just once but multiple times.

>> And disinvestment in teacher, professional development.

So we think that's part of the problem in Kentucky.

We haven't given our teachers the resources they need.

We haven't given them the time to work with one another.

And we've we were constantly changing things for them and not giving them the time to deepen their practice.

At the same time, other states are moving forward and leapfrogging ahead of us.

So Mississippi is great example.

>> white we used to say yeah, thank goodness for Mississippi.

We're not dead.

Last with apologies to Mississippi.

Well, Mississippi is now one of the top states in the nation for progress in early literacy.

What are they doing right there?

We're not quite latching onto lots of professional development for There's a lot there's been a long time debate around different ways of teaching reading and supporting teachers around reading in the classroom.

And so in Mississippi, they've really leaned into something called the science of reading.

I think what this bill does is really put forth something of a balanced approach between whole language and phonics and that science of reading.

So hopefully with the resources in this bill, 11 million dollars each year, the coaching behind it, teachers will feel better prepared to deal with a learner in the classroom in multiple different ways that that Lerner may be struggling in early literacy.

So does it mimicked what Mississippi has done?

It takes components from Mississippi, but it doesn't mimic it exactly But that deep investment in our teachers around professional skills around helping early learners achieve those proficiency standards is key to the investment.

As you often hear.

Educators say that while it wasn't taught to teach reading.

>> and so that would be and we know that's fundamental that by the 3rd grade, a lot can hinge on that kids academic success.

If they really have it game proficiency and basic literacy.

>> Exactly.

If if they're not, if they haven't achieved that basic literacy, as you say, you know, we often say they're learning to read until 3rd grade and post 3rd grade.

They're using reading to learn why so if we haven't equipped them with all the tools, the technical components, the comprehension a lot of times.

I think people they think about reading and the technical components of sounding out words and reading a sentence.

But comprehension is a huge piece of reading proficiency, making sense of understanding what you're actually entertaining.

What you're reading while social media doesn't help with that.

You wonder how all of these digital influences of 140 characters or 2.80, characters.

>> It just wrapped up being able to focus long enough.

Ha ha.

I can imagine.

>> So we'll keep our eye on that.

When do you think we'll start to see some positive results from that effort?

I mean, the lot, you know, it just goes into law.

>> Do you think it's like 3 to 5 years that we may actually see some real benefits of of this effort?

Yes, so immediately the Department of Education is already established reading academies.

So they're moving quickly on And I would say yes, Renay, within 3 years, we should be studying.

>> The impact of this investment to be able to say whether or not it is resulting in improvements in literacy moving us.

Yes, up the national rankings, but moving us from about 50% of our 3rd graders are 4th graders on a PE our meeting that proficiency And if we desegregate for different populations of students, we see groups of students even further behind than 50%.

So 3 years from now, we should see those numbers move up.

>> And of course, there's always the overlay of COVID and these condescension say how has that exacerbated the declines and any kind of proficiency, whether it's a literacy or just other areas of I would be I would think that would be very challenging right now to really assess kids, learning capacity or what they have learned.

It is exactly so we've said, as we have focused on getting test scores out to the public that we need to be aware that this really test scores of late are showing the impact of COVID not showing the impact of teaching and learning why so now our teachers and students have had more time back in the school building back together with one another.

But we're all still dealing with getting over the global pandemic.

>> And so for some time COVID is going to be part of our conversation.

But I also think it means there's no more important time for a bill like read to succeed than right now.

And that investment in our teachers to help students more because they needed for learning loss and to to catch up or accelerate to really be ready for their next steps.

They've lost 2 years, right.

And we also know we hear from educators about the social and emotional deficits that many of these children are dealing with all of the trauma.

>> Was already happening in some of students lives.

And then there was just COVID that just happened to be there.

And so how does that compound all learning challenges and really staying on task and even the ability to focus on what's being put before you.

Yeah.

So now you're really getting into the brain science of our current And and I would probably dare not go down into that rabbit hole without the right expertise.

>> But it's it's the right question.

And I think our teachers are seeing that on the front lines the relationships, teachers back in the classroom with students students back in the classroom with other students.

You know, at that's probably showing some promising results in mental health.

I'm just being back among other people.

I think we even feel that as adults.

And so that's important.

But one thing to we over and over again from teachers through COVID was that it relationships became really important to in that zoom space in that virtual space relationships with students, relationships with families.

So the challenge this last year back in school is continuing to maintain that focus on relationship while we're getting back to some some rigor and some deeper relevance in the academic work.

>> So the education that was approved in the state budget.

You know what?

K through 12 takes up more than 40% of the state budget and there was more money allocated for bass per pupil.

$100 may not sound like much right.

But then you know, 100 ares more the second year of the biennium.

Do those things really make a difference?

If you hear the number you may think with what good could that do?

What is that impactful?

It is impactful?

I think as you know, I think our superintendents would say any increase in the seek formula is helpful.

>> And again, it is multiplied by students, And so it does become catching up with see inflationary impact of spending is important for legislature to recognize and they did begin to recognize that in this budget.

And so districts will have more to work with.

In addition to RPA dollars.

So the federal dollars that have come into it.

Yes, that's right.

That's right.

but it's important that we see those dollars as dollars help districts and students catch up from learning loss and that those dollars coming from the state are really the stability dollars that are districts can plan with us.

A couple of other pieces in the K 12 budget full funding for and getting closer to full funding for transportation.

Those are 2 pieces that right now are being paid for with local taxpayer dollars.

So if your if your school district in the state has full-day kindergarten and has for years and years us a local packed taxpayers have been paying for the the balance of that full day.

Now the legislature is picking it up.

So the districts are able to free up those local dollars then for strategic priorities locally.

We hope some of that will be in the preschool space.

And in the early learning space.

But it may be that the strategic priority is in career and technical education, career pathways in 8th grade for STEM degrees, whatever it might be, freeing up those local dollars that have been going to school transportation and full funding for kindergarten.

We'll give our district's a much more stable base to work from one of the things we've heard from educators and and many who are education advocates is that.

>> Teachers deserved a mandated raise from the state of state workers were given raises if there were bonuses are retention efforts for social workers and for state troopers.

Why not?

our educators and the the budget bill that was passed actually gives up 525 million dollars to school districts and even more this second year of the biennium for them to decide that right.

Those races, do you think that's a fair approach?

It right.

>> Well, I think the way we are designed as a state with local school districts and local school district budgets, then, yes, I understand the legislature's response that they are freeing up local dollars.

They're adding to the seek formula and local districts have federal dollars right now as well.

And local districts need to make those decisions of where raises need to happen.

So that seems like an appropriate governance response to or or to any business other government employees that you referenced are actually direct employees of state government, whereas teachers are direct employees at their local school district.

Now that said school teachers are not paid at an incoming kind of professional level relative to other other of of and profession.

And so that's something we're going to continue to wrestle with as a state and figure out how we find some parity there from a professional compensation standpoint.

Our young people are watching these things today and they're making decisions about whether they'll go down a stem pass, a liberal arts pass.

They'll go into teaching.

They'll go into social work and we need to make sure that they're not making decisions based on compensation.

Only more that compensation is there is some competition there.

Yeah.

>> Speaking of governance, let's talk about SB One we describe as a school governance issue.

It has some other things.

But the the the original crux of the bill was to empower superintendents, really, by its nature to hire and fire principles and to deal with school curricula, which we thought would take care of another issue.

But it was also later combined.

So when you look at stake, that school governance, peace first, because it would remove some of that power firms school-based or sybase decision-making councils.

That was one of the bedrock principles of the Education Reform Act of 1990.

What do you think this says about the direction or the future intention of General Assembly's and dealing with who has what power and can exercise it.

>> You know it.

It's it's important as as you're that Senate Bill one takes curriculum decision-making out of the hands of school based decision-making councils takes principal decision-making out of the hands of school based decision-making councils and moves it to the district level.

I'm not certain that it flags anything for the future at this But it is really important to note that 30 plus years ago that was Kentucky's answer to ensuring parent voice locally to ensuring teacher voice locally and to ensuring more innovation within our so that there was more a community approach.

So school based decision-making councils were Kentucky's answer to that call at the same time that other states we're choosing charter schools has an answer to that same sort of call.

My teacher and parents involved in decision-making and greater innovation should be the epitome of local control, which is exactly how it is being also a bedrock principle of how government should function.

Yes, that's right.

So it is a move away from that local the way it was designed.

And so it's interesting in the legislative session to kind of juxtapose that.

>> With then the passage of a charter bill.

And so I think it's important for Kentuckians to really pay attention to this piece and to continue to push for continued parent to voice community voice in these decisions.

So Senate Bill one while it did move curriculum decision-making to the district.

It also says the district, the superintendent should ensure that stakeholder engagement is part of the process.

And so Kentuckian should be will be pushing for it.

Yes, yes, a permissive language but not mandatory, right?

Rather wise.

The pendulum swings too far back and we're pre 1990, again, right with too much centralize decision-making, too little community involvement in the one thing we know without a doubt is that when communities are engaged in the decision-making of their schools and districts and districts turn out word to them, we get better results for students because we're all in it together.

Right before we talk about charter schools that you just alluded to.

Let's talk about one of the other components of Senate Bill one, which was and developed Senate Bill.

One 38, which many people have cast as the CRT Light Bill.

>> It's teaching history us and Kentucky schools.

It's teaching the American Principles Act.

I think it is named as as the measure is your thoughts >> that combination, perhaps of those bills, which is not an unusual thing to happen in the legislative session.

We just had that happens all the time.

There's there's many bills that have totally unrelated matters 12 or so and one measure, but many people were surprised that these were combined an and when you the herd and first learned of SB One 38, which is teaching American Principles Act.

Did you think that was appropriate response for the backlash against the CRT Critical race theory instruction.

>> Out as Senate bill.

One thing yet.

I don't know.

It's one of these things that that I think we think has been solution searching for a problem.

So while there are some anecdotes out there which parents have shared with some local school districts, are it shared with legislators?

>> Across the board, we have not seen a problem when it comes to how our teachers are teaching about history, engaging students in conversations about civics and think that our standards process at the state level is the appropriate process for conversations about the textbooks that will be used, the standards that teachers will use and then pass that professional development for our teachers is critically important to help them unpack how they can teach history best through the through the lands of the long arc of history.

So I think when we see missteps in in classrooms or hear something here, an anecdote nationally and we're conflating it with a conversation here in Kentucky.

Some of that is a bit is back to what professional development and supports.

Are we providing to our teachers to help support them and having these >> And it was that funded in the was teacher developed.

Pick to professional development for teachers.

Is that something that was propped?

We have not seen that piece So we've pushed for that piece quite a bit time.

But that's an area when we look at education funding, we have 7 key areas that we focused on from the pitcher Committee standpoint.

>> That would result in a bit additional billion dollars each year going into education.

And one of those strands is something we call the fund for teaching excellence.

So that fund for teaching excellence is probably the peace in our big, bold plan that is least funded at this point except for early childhood.

So professional development for teachers resourcing with the right guidance and support is a critical issue.

Whether or not we're talking about history or early literacy or numeracy mathematics stem degrees.

So this is an area we hope the legislature will start to focus on in the future.

>> On the early childhood education piece, of course, the governor's recommendation can remember the number now for early childhood Pre that did not make it through.

And and there seems to be a philosophical divide about the value and impact of early childhood education.

>> Can you touch a lot?

Yeah, yes.

So it was really interesting to see take hold in the in the legislature this year.

The governor, of course, proposed proposed universal preschool.

And I think you did almost a whole show may be on the early childhood peace and then the legislature seemed really interested in the childcare component because it's a workforce support.

So our position is we need to bring preschool and childcare together in a more richly funded system that results in a stronger infrastructure for early childhood.

So preschool, as most folks know is, as for the most part, a half a day, maybe about 4 hours and it's for than the neediest of children.

Childcare is a full working day for a family, but it is very expensive.

It's too expensive for most families to $12,000, depending on where you live It rivals the cost of a college tuition right.

So childcare is incredibly expensive.

What works best for a working family is if they can put their child in a child care center that is high quality and they received the types of preschool development that and the base child would in public preschool.

So bringing these programs together in a richer model, we call that mixed delivery or diverse delivery.

And we're seeing models take hold across the nation that that didn't make this work better.

Had Congress passed the build back better Act states would have needed to figure this out because universal public preschool just for four-year-olds in about 4 hours may benefit them from a learning standpoint, but it's not everything that a working family needs.

And with Kentucky's workforce participation rate a desire to attach more to jobs.

We need to figure out the childcare So if this is something we'll be working on as we move forward, it was not lost on me.

Renee, that in one of your Kentucky tonight, programs on the budget.

Representative Pete responded that they've not seen a plan.

I'm so so we're on the hook to bring a plan as far as I'm concerned and will be doing that.

Yeah.

Let's talk about charter that came as no surprise, even though it came late in the session.

I think there was anticipation about what happened.

>> Charter schools are already legalized in 2017 that that was one of the a batch of bills that were passed in 4 days on organizational 7 organizational session in 2017.

That was a rare Saturday session that that bill falling across the finish line to legalize them.

But they had been funded beyond what, one or 2 years.

And there had been no applications that are starting school.

Now the funding is made What are what are your thoughts about?

Do you think we'll see a flood of applications and charter school start to emerge, particularly where it's mandated and Jefferson.

And in northern Kentucky, Jefferson County in northern Kentucky overnight, I'm still not hearing a lot of in in Louisville and probably hearing more interest in northern Kentucky right now than in Louisville.

>> But I'm not seeing a great deal of demand out there in the disorders.

You're talking to me.

Yes, there has been for a while been a call from some parents and others in northern Kentucky a charter school.

You know, right across the river in Cincinnati, Ohio has charter schools that's a metropolitan area.

And I think folks have been asking, why does Kentucky not have what Ohio has?

And so you've got that push.

That's a little bit different than Louisville and Indiana.

>> So the funding structure is there now with House Bill It also sets in place a pilot program for Louisville in northern Kentucky with an expectation that there would be a couple of charters within the next about 18 months.

What's really important is that the authorizer zandon authorizer is the local school board the mayor's office or in northern Kentucky, the northern Kentucky University Board of Regents.

What's really important is that those authorize ERs focus on those applications being quality applications and the applicants being able to achieve better than expected results for students that they may be pulling out of the traditional public And so if there's anything that's really important to watch as we move forward, its implementation of this bill, I don't think we're going to see a flood of applications in either space, but ensuring they are quality applicants and our authorizes are prepared to accept nothing less and hold them accountable for better than expected.

Student results is going to be important for Kentucky to continue to improve education.

Now.

>> It does seem though many people have complained that those metrics are missing.

All right, that the accountability level is not the same that's expected for public school teachers, that there's a lot more flexibility.

It's a lot for these public.

These are public charter school.

Yes, that job, but that they don't have to abide by the same rules in the same play book.

That's been a constant refrain.

Well, it's are authorized by school districts and they're under the school district's jurisdiction.

If they're authorized by in this case, Northern Kentucky University or the mayor's office.

>> Those authorize ERs.

We'll have accountability or should.

That's what a quality authorizer is about.

Which is why Kentucky's charter law does really pull from all the best language across the nation when it comes to our national experiment with charters.

So those authorize ERs, if I'm Nku on the Board of Regents in Nku on the president of the University, I'm going to make sure there that there are accountability components and that application is speaking to those accountability components.

So again, the devil is always in the details and it's in implementation.

But Kentucky does have a strong charter law at this point.

The only thing we really ended up concerned with in the charter law was the pilot and the time frame because the time frame is going to be the priority.

And we worried at that time frame could compromise the quality come around 8.

So it's important that authorize ERs focus on that quality component as well.

Right.

>> And the education outcomes, There's a concern about big corporations starting these complexes and there's not really one the level of accountability that critics say is absent.

But then 2 students really don't care that much better off.

>> That's right.

And that's where the again, the authorize or is.

This the authorizer is the person that's accepting the and the calm and and negotiating the contract.

So if I'm hiring an employee, the charter authorizer is hiring an applicant.

It's up to me to set the accountability standards for that applicant.

And so in this case, it's the authorizer is job.

So they need to hold the applicant accountable.

at the contract can be 5 years.

So they need to be evaluating those outcomes on an annual basis and expect that require the applicant to come together to come to them with those outcomes.

And at the end of that 5 year contract, if there's no appreciable difference than the authorizer should be reevaluating that contract and contaminated and can terminate it absolutely are not renew it or just a slight right?

That's right.

>> Well, with a minute, 26 the conversation.

We said it before we started.

We go by too fast.

We would have to get anything I do want to quickly and I'm sure this in 30 seconds, but I want to get back to your anti CRT She was in reading, you know, media, social media.

It really is also important for Kentuckians to understand that Senate bill, one 38 that was passed provides guidelines for teachers and a list of text that teachers will be required to use.

But it does not prohibit or find teaching it does not require throwing out of textbooks in our state because the wrong things are mentioned and that's a very different bill than what we're hearing about and seeing in other states right.

And thanks to the Prichard Committee for catching an error that was in I guess, I guess is cross contamination of Krs is When those types of things and House Bill 44 came to the rescue at the last minute to make sure that teachers weren't fond there once was a kind of any kind of retribution.

That's right.

And we do believe that was that was a drafting error.

I will stand behind that.

And, you know, as long as I need and without any question that it was indeed a drafting error.

And it's a tribute to Senator Wise and Senate leadership for making that a priority in the final 2 days of the session to get that fixed, Bridget bomb, we could talk another half an hour.

Another hour.

I'll have to have you on the other side of the studio sometime soon to talk about immigration issues there lingering and how they.

>> Really just connect to the workforce.

Issues at the state is facing.

Absolutely.

Thank you for all you do to cover these important issues.

Thank you for being someone who is worthy of covering the issues and helping us understand the mall a little bit better and we hope we did that for you today.

Thank you for watching connections.

I'm Renee Shaw.

You can always follow us on Twitter on Facebook, Instagram.

You can go back and listen and watch previous programs.

KET DOT Org Slash podcast and also KT Dot Org.

Slash