Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 3, September 1, 2024
RELATES TO:
KRS
157.390
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY:
KRS
157.390 authorizes the Kentucky Board of
Education to promulgate an administrative regulation for administration of a
Professional Development Leadership and Mentor Fund to provide additional
compensation to a classroom teacher or administrator for serving as a classroom
mentor, teaching partner, or professional development leader in core discipline
areas. This administrative regulation establishes the guidelines for programs
and activities that qualify for funds including the application and approval
process for receipt of funds, the individual participant requirements, the
amount of compensation, the timelines, and the reporting requirements.
Section 1. Definitions.
(1) "Classroom mentor" means a
highly-skilled, experienced teacher or administrator possessing current
professional knowledge and the specific pedagogy in mathematics, language arts,
writing, science, social studies, arts and humanities, practical living and
vocational studies, or reading who provides systematic and on-going support and
assistance to other teachers in a school or school district to help them
improve their teaching skills and practices.
(2) "Highly skilled" means documented
expertise in content knowledge, student learning, and assessment, the ability
to teach all students to meet the proficient standard, and the ability to use
effective communication skills with other professionals.
(3) "Professional development leader" means a
highly-skilled teacher or administrator who serves in a supportive, ongoing
role to provide professional development training and materials to
teachers.
(4) "Teaching partner"
means a highly-skilled teacher or administrator who is available during the
school day to collaborate, teach, and work with a teacher within the classroom
setting.
Section 2.
Purpose of Program. The Professional Development Leadership and Mentor Fund
provides competitive grants to pay one (1) or more teachers or administrators
additional compensation to develop and implement an action plan for improving
the academic performance of students.
Section
3. Selection of Grants.
(1) A
public school that enrolls students that includes grades P-12 shall be eligible
to compete for a $10,000 grant. Preference shall be given to schools with a
high percentage of students scoring at the novice level on the core content
section of the Kentucky Core Content Test (KCCT) that relates to the area for
which the mentor program is focused.
(2) The following organizations may apply for
the grant:
(a) A school council or
school;
(b) A school jointly with
one (1) or more schools, e.g., a high school and feeder middle
school;
(c) A school district;
or
(d) A school district jointly
with one (1) or more school districts.
(3) The application shall be submitted by
June 15, 2001 and by May 1 in subsequent years and have the approval of the
participating district local board of education.
(4) Funds shall be made available to an
eligible school through a request for proposal (RFP) process. A grant
application shall indicate the fiscal agent as a local board of education or
other entity eligible to enter into a memorandum of agreement to receive state
education funds.
(5)
(a) Priority shall be given to applications
in 2001-2002 for mentoring programs designed to improve reading instruction for
all students in the school resulting in increased reading assessment scores. In
subsequent years, and based on the available funds, the Kentucky Board of
Education shall determine the core discipline areas and grade levels for which
priority of funding shall be provided and notify eligible recipients.
(b) To be eligible for funding, an
application shall:
1. Propose a project
designed to improve instruction for all students in the school resulting in
increased assessment scores in the focus core area;
2. Designate a position as a classroom
mentor, teaching partner, or professional development leader who will receive
additional compensation (separate and apart from the base salary) for planning
and facilitating the project, providing professional development for fellow
teachers, and working in classrooms with teachers. Assistance may be focused on
improving the skills in instruction of emergency-certified teachers;
3. Include an assessment of need and
rationale for proposing the project;
4. Describe how the district will support the
project and include a provision for improving the knowledge and skills of the
classroom mentor, teaching partner, or professional development leader through
ongoing professional development funded by the school or district;
and
5. Describe how the project
will be evaluated.
(6) The Commissioner of Education shall
appoint a panel of educators knowledgeable about instruction to review the
applications for funding based on the following criteria:
(a) Percentage of students scoring at the
novice level on the KCCT;
(b)
Effectiveness of the description of the rationale for the project;
(c) Effectiveness of the model proposed for
the project;
(d) Level of
commitment of the district, school and classroom mentor, teaching partner, or
professional development leader;
(e) Qualifications of the classroom mentor,
teaching partner, or professional development leader to assist teachers and
plan for his or her own professional development;
(f) Quality of the plan to evaluate results
of the project; and
(g) Efficiency
and effectiveness of the budget.
(7) Applications that involve other partners
such as a feeder school, a higher education institution, or other interested
entity, or that integrate the proposal with existing school programs, shall
receive additional consideration.
(8) After consideration of the criteria
established in subsection (6) of this section, geographic distribution may be
considered.
Section 4.
District Requirements.
(1) A payment made from
this fund under the requirements of this administrative regulation shall be
disbursed by the Department of Education directly to the local school district
in which the mentor is employed for the July 1 to June 30 fiscal
year.
(2) The local school district
shall be responsible for disbursing the payment to the mentor and deducting any
relevant withholdings prior to disbursing the funds to the mentor.
(3) A local school district shall verify that
the mentoring activities have been accomplished and request reimbursement by
May 1 of the grant year.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY:
KRS
157.390