Council on Postsecondary Education
COUNCIL ON POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION AWARDS $1.26 MILLION TO IMPROVE EDUCATOR QUALITY

The Council on Postsecondary Education awarded $1.26 million in federal grant funding to nine education partnerships at its meeting earlier today in Richmond. The partnerships will provide professional development for more than 300 P-12 teachers and administrators in 50 school districts over an 18-month period beginning in January.

The Improving Educator Quality State Grant Program provides grants to partnerships that deliver research-based professional development programs. To be eligible, a partnership must include a postsecondary institution’s school of arts and sciences and its teacher preparation program, as well as at least one high-need local district.

“We are very pleased with the quality of these proposals and their strategic focus to fully integrate the Common Core Standards into our public education system,” said Council on Postsecondary Education President Bob King. “These grants will help more students graduate college and career ready.”

The Common Core Standards were approved in February. Higher, clearer and more in-depth academic standards are required by Senate Bill 1, passed by the 2009 Kentucky General Assembly.

The projects, including the lead institutions and the grant award, include:

• Increasing College Readiness through Assessment-Led Instruction in Middle and High School Classrooms—Year 2 (Morehead State University): $149,998.
• The Active Math Project: Increasing College Readiness through Hands-On Math Instruction in Middle and High School Classrooms (Morehead State University): $149,972.
• Empowering Teachers to Develop Digital Contents (Murray State University): $92,775
• Certifying World Language Teachers for Kentucky—Year 2 (Northern Kentucky University): $145,000.
• Literacy + Numeracy=Exponential Learning—Year 2 (University of Kentucky): $125,176.
• Special Education Math Cadre (University of Kentucky): $150,000.
• Preparing All Students for Success: Career and College Readiness (University of Kentucky): $150,000.
• Collaborative Teacher Training in Reading/Language Arts (University of Louisville): $148,570.
• Readers Matter: Common Goals, Core Learning, and set Standards for Achievement (Western Kentucky University): $150,000.

In other business, the Council approved a post-master’s certificate in family practice nursing proposed by the University of Louisville.

The Council also heard key updates on the Committee on Equal Opportunities, strategic agenda planning process, tuition policy and the tuition-setting process, Kentucky Adult Education, and the K-12 assessment results for 2010 from Education Commissioner Terry Holliday.

The next meeting of the Council will be held Feb. 3-4, 2011.

For more information on the Council meeting or to access meeting materials, visit http://cpe.ky.gov/about/cpe/meetings/2010/Nov2010CPEMtgAgenda.htm.