JCTA now offers NEA's Diversity Training. We will have various trainings offered at our office this year, but we also have the ability to send NEA-certified trainers to your building to train your entire staff. Click "Read Article" to read the descriptions for all the modules available. Click here to download the request forms.

WE DID IT!!! WE WON!!! A MAJOR VICTORY FOR EDUCATORS, STUDENTS, PARENTS, AND OUR NATION!!!

Just moments ago, the House passed the education jobs/FMAP bill by a vote of 247-161 . We will forward the roll call vote as soon as it is available. This means the bill only has to go to the President for signature and it becomes law!!! The President will sign the bill this evening at 5:00pm, so that the implementation process can begin immediately!  (Reported by NEA)
 

On August 17, Governor Beshear – in partnership with the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet, the Kentucky Department of Education, the Prichard Committee, the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and Kentucky Educational Television – will host TEK Talk, community forums at ten locations across the state to discuss Transforming Education in Kentucky.

Our region’s forum will be held on Tuesday, August 17, 2010, 7:00 - 9:30 p.m., in the new Health Sciences Building Auditorium at Jefferson Community and Technical College, 110 West Chestnut Street (Second and Chestnut Streets), Louisville (For driving directions, go to: http://www.jefferson.kctcs.edu/About_Us/Maps_and_Directions/Downtown_Campus.aspx).  Anyone is welcome to attend. Our region includes the counties of Jefferson, Henry, Oldham, Shelby, Spencer and Trimble.
 

JCTA is encouraging all members to view, participate or attend KET's Education Town Hall meetings on August 17, 2010 at 8:00P.M. Information is below: 

Transforming Education in Kentucky is Governor Steve Beshear's statewide education taskforce, which brings together community members throughout the Commonwealth to create a vision for meeting the educational needs of Kentuckians in the 21st century. TEK is also the topic for the first Education Matters of the new season, airing live Tuesday, Aug. 17 at 8/7 p.m. CT on KET.

Host Bill Goodman will be joined by Governor and Mrs. Beshear, Commissioner of Education Terry Holliday and Robert King, president of the Council on Postsecondary Education, for a live discussion of the major issues that TEK will address.

On the evening of the program, town hall forums will be held at 10 sites around Kentucky to allow community members to explore the process of transforming education from local and regional perspectives. Forum participants will also submit questions and comments for Governor Beshear and the other panelists to discuss during the live broadcast.

Education Matters "Transforming Education in Kentucky" is a KET production, produced by Nancy Carpenter. More information about KET programming and education services, as well as how to support KET, can be found at www.ket.org.

Louisville is one of the 10 sites around the state for the education town hall style meetings. We are encouraging our members to attend the town hall meetings or to watch the program on TV and call in with your questions.

When the location is announced, we will post it on our website.

The Personnel Cabinet, Department of Employee Insurance has provided eligibility information to Humana resulting in the cancelation of several KEHP dependents. According to DEI the dependents were not verified as eligible in the audit they recently conducted.

There is an appeal process for those dependents that were terminated. Teachers may complete and submit the Appeal Request Form by August 13, 2010 to DEI appeals committee. The required information/documentation to verify dependent eligibility must be provided along with the Appeal Request Form.
 

 “I strongly urge Congress to keep educators working by including education jobs in the emergency funding bill. This legislation will save 300,000 jobs and provide students with the best opportunity to learn and succeed.”

Click on this link to sign NEA's petition: www.educationvotes.nea.org

The legislature adopted a state budget for the next two years. They come back this afternoon to try to adopt a road plan and tranportation budget. While education escaped the deep cuts that most state government functions took, the budget will not serve our students or schools well.
 

 The Hybrid Grant Program is a Kentucky Virtual Schools initiative that supports teachers in redesigning their face-to-face classrooms to include an online component in order to better meet the needs of 21st-century learners. The program provides the following free benefits:

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) encourages support for Kentucky's Summer Reading Programs to ensure students maintain a focus on reading and literacy. There is an abundant amount of research that shows when students are out of school during the summer, they return with a lag in their reading/literacy abilities. In order to maintain a focus on enjoying reading and continuing their academic growth and development, KDE is encouraging students remain active readers.

Please add JCTA email addresses as "not spam" in your emails.  Some of our emails to members are being sent to the junk or spam files. We are also working on this issue with JCPS.

Thank you to everyone who attended the rally on May 24, 2010!

Here are a few pictures that the CJ took.

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=B2&Dato=20100524&Kategori=NEWS01&Lopenr=305240018&Ref=PH

Here is a link to some news coverage from the rally

http://www.fox41.com/global/video/flash/popupplayer.asp?ClipID1=4813353&h1=State%20workers%20rally%20against%20budget%20cuts&vt1=v&at1=News&d1=150134&LaunchPageAdTag=News&activePane=info&rnd=35331148

The Forum for Education and Democracy recently presented a seminar on education reform in America. To view the seminar, go to http://www.forumforeducation.org/node/541.

To see the Forum's recommendations for the reauthorization of ESEA, go to http://www.forumforeducation.org/our-issues/whats-new-forum/creating-national-culture-learning.

The state recently release seven audit reports for Jefferson County - one for each of the priority schools and one for JCPS in general. Here are the links to the full reports.

JCPS: www.courier-journal.com/article/20100504/EXTRAS99/100504009

Frost Middle: www.courier-journal.com/article/20100504/EXTRAS99/100504008

Western Middle: www.courier-journal.com/article/20100504/EXTRAS99/100504011

Shawnee High: www.courier-journal.com/article/20100505/EXTRAS99/100505004

Fern Creek High: www.courier-journal.com/article/20100504/EXTRAS99/100504007

Western High: www.courier-journal.com/article/20100504/EXTRAS99/100504012

Valley High: www.courier-journal.com/article/20100504/EXTRAS99/100504010

No Value Added: The Mismeasurement of Teaching Quality by David Cohen

David Cohen, a high school English teacher, says that there are inherent flaws in tying student test scores to teacher evaluations.
 

www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2010/04/28/tln_cohen_teachquality.html

JCTA’s Social Affairs Committee has planned an upcoming social event. It is a JCTA Day at the Downs on Thursday, June 17. On this day, members will sit on Millionaire’s Row. We will have a buffet and will watch a day of racing. Tickets for the event are $20 for members and $35 for nonmembers and guests. To register, call Chanda Hornback at the JCTA office at 454-3400 or email at chornback@jcta.org. Registration is limited, so please call today.

As part of its commitment to control health care costs, the Commonwealth of Kentucky is taking steps to ensure that only eligible dependents are covered under the Kentucky Employees’ Health Plan (KEHP). Covering individuals who are not eligible raises the cost of health coverage, which is reflected in the premiums deducted from paychecks. If you have dependents enrolled in KEHP, you recently received a letter from Chapman Kelly, Inc. KEHP has retained Chapman Kelly as an independent firm to administer the dependent eligibility verification program that is underway. This program is intended to ensure that each dependent enrolled in the health plan is accurately listed and eligible for coverage.
 

www.youtube.com/watch