A legacy of leadership is more than a bench, as demonstrated by six Kentucky school superintendents who share a common commitment to providing a resource for continuous professional learning for district superintendents. The six leaders met at the end of their doctorate of education program at Northern Kentucky University in May 2015 to contribute…

Discusses an oral history project designed to make the acquisition of writing skills more palatable to students and the consequences the project had on the author's view of her own education and teaching, her students, and her community. (JOW)

Describes curriculum on family violence and how it is infused into the home economics courses in Kentucky. (JOW)

Discusses recommendations of the Kentucky Department of Education's Task Force of High School Restructuring, and notes how some of its recommendations recall W. H. Kilpatrick's "project method" from the early 20th century. (SR)

This reports presents a detailed description of curriculum reform efforts in four states that exemplify particular approaches to developing curriculum. In California and South Carolina, curriculum standards are influenced most heavily by subject-matter professionals through a top-down process; the lay public is asked to review and make recommended…

In 1989, the supreme courts of Montana, Kentucky, and Texas declared their respective school finance systems unconstitutional. Explores why these cases represent a major change in litigation and will prompt a third wave of school finance reform litigation. (MLF)

A Kentucky high school principal regrets leaving a previous principalship for the superintendency of a small inner-city district. He gradually realized he'd been victimized by his own ego and others' perceptions of him. Playing political games had caused him to lose focus on the students. Principalships are equally stressful, but permit greater…

Describes a modified vocational education program in which trainable mentally handicapped 12- to 21-year-olds are taught commercial foods and food-service job skills that would be used in fast foods restaurant. (CT)

Lessons learned in guiding effective tech prep (TP) programs in agriculture include the constraints of Perkins funding, importance of the TP coordinator, necessity of continuous curriculum effort, teacher acceptance, pitfalls of articulation agreements, avoidance of remedial education, TP's place in overall reform, and emphasis on comprehensive…

Relates how in Kentucky a legislative act was necessary before substantial change in education occurred to address the achievement gap in educational attainment. Describes how educators in Kentucky were effective advocates for legislative restructuring of schools. Notes factors that contributed to this success. (SR)

A renewed emphasis on arts education has come after a period of neglect during the 1980s and early 1990s when the arts were often slighted as school budgets grew tight and as educational priorities shifted to the basic academic subjects. Recently, results of several research studies have confirmed the advantages of student participation in arts…

Traces the organizational history in Kentucky after the Department of Education was abolished by the Kentucky Educational Reform Act (KERA). Offers suggestions to other state legislators contemplating state department restructuring. Contends that "restructuring" turned out to be the same old process of bureaucratic adjustments practiced…

Despite the school shooting on December 1, 1997, under current state law in Kentucky, school officials and administrators are not likely to be held accountable, even for ignoring the most obvious of warning signs. There should no longer be the rule barring liability that is called sovereign immunity. Instead, the court should examine the actions…

Theme issue includes 10 articles on the following topics: innovation, trends in agricultural curriculum, working with special populations, the role of history, standards, curriculum integration, distance learning, integrating math and science, and developing leaders. (JOW)

As a consequence of the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990, which brought outcomes-based education to P-12 students, the Kentucky Professional Standards Board mandated a process by which teachers will receive state certification after successfully completing performance assessments. This article lists the eight teacher expectations and the…