Education

As students begin moving onto Western Kentucky University’s campus, President Gary Ransdell wants to get them in, get them through, keep them around and get them out. A major hurdle for faculty and staff this academic year will be student retention, which has dwindled over the years. More than 1,000 students are lost from each new class, Ransdell said during WKU’s opening convocation. “This is tough to accept,” he said.

The Murray State University professor who was suspended last spring for allegedly making a racial comment to a black student has been hired by the university on a part-time basis to teach online courses, officials say. In February, it was reported that one of Mark Wattier’s former students had filed a complaint against him with MSU’s Office of Equal Opportunity.

The nonprofit organization that proposed building a $1.5 million aerospace education center at the Capital City Airport has reached an agreement with state officials to stay in Frankfort. Kentucky Institute for Aerospace Education leaders announced last month that they would move to Southern Indiana if a plan to use hangar and runway space in Frankfort collapsed. But Tim Smith, a teacher at Frankfort High School and chief executive officer of the nonprofit organization, says he and state Transportation Cabinet officials negotiated a solution this week.

Parents and educators involved in Kentucky’s Head Start program are watching Washington warily.  The federally-funded pre-school program could lose funding if Congress cannot agree on a budget reduction plan.  If there’s no deal, Kentucky Head Start executive director Bob Wilcher says it would mean a serious cutbacks.

Every eighth-, ninth- and 10th-grader in Kentucky would get a chance to consult with an adult next year about career goals and the education courses needed to reach them under a plan announced here Wednesday. Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday said Operation Preparation is intended to reach about 150,000 students statewide from March 12 to 16 next year.

Scores on the ACT test taken by juniors in Kentucky's public high schools in the spring improved slightly over last year in most subject areas, according to results released Wednesday by the state Department of Education. The composite score for Kentucky juniors this year was 18.8, up from 18.5 in 2010.

Georgetown College has landed in a top 10 list compiled by a well-known news magazine, highlighting decisions made by the class of 2009. U.S. News and World Report put Georgetown No. 10 on a list of colleges and universities with the highest percentage of students that go on to pursue graduate studies. Sixty-five percent of the private, faith-based college's 2009 graduates went on to graduate school within a year after completing Georgetown.

An advocate for early childhood education says more attention needs to be paid to existing programs in rural communities.  June Widman serves on the Early Childhood Advisory Council. The panel met for the first time Wednesday in Frankfort.  Widman says sound quality child care should not go un-noticed.

“If we want to increase the availability of quality programs for young children, let’s look where young children already are…instead of saying it could only be done at school or could only be done under the auspices of Head Start,” said Widman.

Avid planker and incoming Western Kentucky University freshman Tyler Webster tweeted Tuesday that “It’s all over, i’m going to #WKU !!!” Webster, who was banned last week from WKU’s campus after a story about his activities was published by the Daily News, will now be allowed on campus - and presumably to enroll in classes - for the fall semester.

Starting Thursday, Lexington will have a high school for Montessori students. The new Montessori High School of Kentucky, based at St. Augustine's Episcopal Chapel on the University of Kentucky campus, is the first such school in the state, organizers say.

The percentage of Kentucky high school graduates reaching benchmark scores on the ACT test improved in some subjects this year, but educators still have much work to do, results being released Wednesday show. For example, more than 35 percent of Kentuckians who graduated from high school this spring failed to achieve any benchmark score on the ACT. The benchmark scores indicate likely success in college.

Monday was quite a day for the Washington County School District. After officially closing the purchase of land for a new high school earlier in the day, the school board also approved a schematic design for the new school later that evening at its regular monthly meeting.

A group of University of Kentucky freshmen will arrive on campus in the next few days as members of a new technology-based learning community. The group of 175 freshmen, to be housed at an updated Keeneland Hall near Memorial Coliseum, will be given new iPads and have access to touch-screen technology in the front lobby.

The Union College board of trustees named Dr. Thomas McFarland acting president last week following the announcement of President Edward de Rosset’s indefinite leave of absence. McFarland, a 1969 graduate of Union College, has served the college in various roles for more than 25 years, most recently as vice president for academic affairs.

The federal government will pour another $7 million into the University of Kentucky's efforts to research and treat Alzheimer's disease at its Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, the school announced Tuesday. The five-year grant from the National Institute on Aging makes UK's Alzheimer's Center one of 10 in the United States that has been continuously funded since 1985, said UK President Eli Capilouto.

More Kentuckians are turning to GEDs as a way to prepare themselves for the workforce or transition to college. The number of diplomas awarded rose 10 percent this fiscal year.  Not only are more students in the Bluegrass earning GEDs, the pass rate is also increasing. Bob King, president of the Council on Postsecondary Education, attributes the jump to free testing offered in April, May, and June, along with deeper economic worries.

Burgin Independent School may be small in enrollment, but its high school graduation rate makes a big impression. Figures just released by the Kentucky Department of Education show the independent school system in Mercer County had a 94.74 percent Average Freshman Graduation Rate in 2009-2010, better than 167 other school districts.

Bluegrass Community and Technical College is expanding. Not only did the college begin construction on a new building today, it also broke ground on a new campus. The new four-story, 28-million dollar building is set to house eleven academic programs, including Computer Information Technology and will host about a thousand students upon completion. BCTC President Augusta Julian explained why the expansion has the potential to be transformative.

Classes begin next week at Eastern Kentucky University, but a combination pep rally/reality check took place Monday on the Richmond campus. The fall annual convocation drew hundreds of faculty and staff. President Doug Whitlock says to expect about 16-thousand-500 students. Although that’s about the same as last year, Whitlock sees positives in the numbers.

A federally funded program based at Eastern Kentucky University is helping rural communities across the country prepare for emergencies and disasters. Consortium director Amy Hughes says the program is meeting a real need.

It’s not just the students in the classrooms across Kentucky who are learning new subjects this year.  Classes are underway in many sections of the state.  It’s also a time of learning for many educators from Kindergarten through college.  The last in a series of workshops designed to orient college faculty and staff on recently enacted education reforms is scheduled Monday in Williamsburg

Summer break is officially over, but 10-year-old Tantalissia Champs doesn't seem to mind. The Maxwell Elementary School 5th-grader was ready for the start of a new school year.  "I am so excited. I couldn't wait." Classroom lessons resumed for thousands of students across the Fayette County Public School district Thursday.