Education

We must eliminate the distance between a teacher and a state dollar. The Kentucky Department of Education will only administer federal funds and evaluate student assessments. We are ranked as low as 39th in education and I am not sure why some factors sway those rankings.

I do know recently two thirds of our 4th graders cannot read and three quarters of our 8th graders are not proficient in math. A fundamental return to Dewey, when almost 1 in 5 Kentucky children live in poverty, is a must. With private education drawing 10% of children not in poverty, our public schools are handling 28% of Kentucky children in poverty.

Sometimes with no parental involvement. These children will need more resources. There must be multiple tracks to 3rd grade, multiple tracks to 7th grade, and multiple tracks to 10th grade. Some tracks will require more aids, mental health counseling or cognitive specialists. Some tracks will be a standard curriculum.

The goal must be to develop these children to assimilate by the 3rd grade, 7th grade, and 10th grade.

Set Kentucky teacher salary at $3,500 per student (after assessments, the classroom structure of each grade level set to match the needs of the students); and each student carries a $2,500 resource budget (the resource budgets should be combined per grade and then applied as needed). The individual needs of each student be assessed at the critical levels of kindergarten (preoperational), 6th Grade (concrete operational), and 9th Grade (formal operational).

Some classrooms will be larger than other classrooms and the decision for teaching those classrooms, especially in kindergarten through 3rd grade, should be a joint decision between teachers and administration based on experience and qualifications along with the resources needed for each tract.

I am interested in AI tutor programs for our students but more information and feedback from educators and parents before committing.

As for parents/ guardians, there should be up to 4 curriculums for the parent/ guardian to choose from. If a child needs a developmental track, the goal will be to get the child into that curriculum when the child can do the work.

Please remember that some children are attending school and have not been toilet trained, some have no communication skills, and many cannot speak functional English. Our educators will reach the child’s cognitive potential with, or without, parent/ guardian assistance.

Any mental health services for a child must require consent by the parent/ guardian prior to an assessment. Parents/ guardians will have closed- circuit access to their child’s classroom to observe content, discipline, and teaching. Further, school cafeterias will not close after lunch as food insecure children and parents/ guardian will be sent home with meals for the family at their request.