Lessons Learned and State Priorities from the Second Governing Board Meeting
November 1, 2017
SRI International
Kaycee Ensign, REL Appalachia
The second REL Appalachia (REL AP) Governing Board meeting on October 17th in Frankfort, Kentucky was an engaging and meaningful day for all attendees. In his opening and motivational message to the board, Commissioner Stephen Pruitt stressed the importance of cross-state collaboration and how convenings like those of the Governing Board offer a space for different state stakeholders to connect, learn from each other, and ultimately improve the future for students. Learning from each other was the resonating theme of REL AP's second Governing Board meeting. During the daylong meeting, members had the opportunity to discuss the needs of the region, hear REL AP project updates, and learn about new and exciting work from the Kentucky Department of Education and the Kentucky Center for Education Workforce Statistics staff.
Learning from REL AP Staff
REL AP Deputy Director Miya Warner welcomes the Governing Board.
After introducing REL AP's new Deputy Director, Miya Warner, Deborah Jonas, director of REL AP, shared the themes and needs of the region that REL AP staff had identified and how the current and future work of REL AP is grounded in addressing these needs. Jonas stressed how the damaging impacts of the opioid crisis continue to unfold in Appalachia and how REL AP staff will think critically about what role, if any, REL AP can have in supporting those students and communities that have experienced related trauma. Members echoed that this was indeed a crisis ravaging their communities and indicated that a top priority should be understanding ways to support students whose social emotional development has been jeopardized. In addition to discussing the emerging needs of the region, REL AP staff provided more detail on the ongoing projects within each of our partnerships.
Learning from the Governing Board Members
Rachel Yarbrough, chair of the board and superintendent of Webster County Schools, gives an overview of the ongoing work in Kentucky.
The meeting's working lunch session continued the theme of learning from each other, as Governing Board members shared their experiences around using evidence-based practices in their school, district, or state. REL AP staff learned from members about the primary challenges of using evidence in practice and heard examples of schools, districts, and state agencies adopting and implementing evidence-based practices with fidelity. The challenges and successes members have experienced in adopting and implementing evidence-based practices with fidelity will inform our approach as we continue to think through how best to support the use of these practices in the region.
Learning from the Kentucky Department of Education and Kentucky Center for Education Workforce Statistics
Karen Dodd, Governing Board member and chief performance officer at the Kentucky DOE, shares details about Kentucky's new plan.
Our Kentucky hosts provided REL AP the opportunity to hear from Kentucky state representatives on the new and unique work underway in their state. We heard from several Kentucky Department of Education staff on the state's development of their strategic plan, the indicators of their new accountability system, and their work towards ensuring that industry certifications benefit students in the workplace. Additionally, Kate Akers, executive director of the Kentucky Center for Education and Workforce Statistics (KCEWS), described their work to include education and workforce data in a centralized data system and provided a walkthrough of the KCEWS website. Governing Board members and REL AP staff left the session feeling upbeat about data displays and eager to explore the KCEWS website.
Building Knowledge to Increase Impact
As we begin to plan for the next year of REL AP, we have a greater knowledge of the challenges we may encounter, the needs of the region, and the work and top priorities of our states. The Governing Board continues to play the invaluable role of focusing our work so that it will be the most meaningful to Appalachian communities. We look forward to the discussions, questions, and lessons learned at our next Governing Board meeting, which will take place in March 2018 in Tennessee!