News from NKU…

Thursday – June 23, 2011
For immediate release…


Kentucky Senate Bill 1 Grant

to Support College and Career Readiness


HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University College of Education and Human Services announced today that it has received a $200,000 grant from the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education to establish the Kentucky Academies for College and Career Readiness (KY Academies) in support of Senate Bill 1 initiatives.

The KY Academies will facilitate collaboration of educational and P-20 partners across the commonwealth designed to share best practices that focus on increasing the educational and career attainment of students. The KY Academies led by NKU will be created at Morehead State University and Murray State University to work collaboratively within their regions to increase college and career readiness for learners at all levels. Each KY Academy will develop a model of collaboration among local universities, P-12 school districts, community and technical schools, a P-20 council, Education Cooperative and regional or county adult education centers.

One of the key objectives of the KY Academies is to develop a seamless P-20 assessment model to inform teacher preparation programs and professional development for practicing educators. Development of a P-20 assessment model will be facilitated through current efforts by the NKU Center for Educator Excellence, Morehead State University’s 21^st Century Education Enterprise and the College of Education at Murray State University.

“This is a unique opportunity to collaborate with other post secondary institutions and P-12 schools to identify and integrate a P-20 assessment pipeline to best inform instruction and assist students in preparing for college and careers,” said Dr. Cook, director of Northern Kentucky Center for Educator Excellence and principal investigator of the grant along with Jennifer Stansbury Koenig. “We are very excited about the potential impact of our collaborative efforts.”

Another key objective is the coordination of institutional assessment data focused on placement and diagnostic testing and services. The KY Academies will work from the high school senior level backward to track use of the English Early Assessment Program (EAP) and other assessments like the Kentucky Online Testing Project (KYOTE) or Measure of Academic Performance (MAP). Aligning assessment data will enable the KY Academies to identify indicators of successful transitions across the P-20 continuum into career and college.

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