Kentucky Association of School Administrators (KASA)
Department of Information
Rhonda Caldwell, Deputy Director
Phone: (502) 875-3411 or (859) 583-5652
News Release
June 27, 2013
Large Turnout Expected for Annual State School Administrators Conference
Frankfort, KY- On July 17-19, the largest organized group of public school leaders in the state of Kentucky will converge on Louisville forthe Kentucky Association of School Administrators’ 45thAnnual Leadership Institute. Attendance for this year’s event is expected to be higher than any of its previous 44 gatherings, due in large part to a perfect storm that is pelting the commonwealth’s 174 public school districts.
In a recent video message to Kentucky school administrators introduced by Brian Gossage, Regional Director for Achieve3000, the presenting sponsor for the conference, it was stated that 32 million Americans can’t read sufficiently, 40 million never graduated from high school, and by 2018, 63% of all jobs will require a college degree. All of which present a formidable challenge for educators.
So, Wolfgang Petersen’s 2000 disaster film, “The Perfect Storm,” may be a good analogy for what’s happening in education these days. Public school districts are being battered about by cuts in funding from all sides. They are swirledaround by Kentucky’s swift adoption of the new, somewhat controversial common core standards and the enormous effort to implement those in every grade level across the state, and at the same time, they are experiencing the strong winds of the new Professional Growth and Evaluation System (PGES), that by the way, is not a revision of the former evaluation system for teachers and principals but a completely new approach altogether. In the end, what you have is…well, let’s just say it becomes abundantly clear that the location for author Sebastian Junger’s novel could just as easily been in the Bluegrass state.
“No doubt this is an extremely challenging time for our members,” said Wayne Young, Executive Director of 3,000-plus member group. “Going back to 1983 when I first joined KASA, I cannot think of a more critical time for our members to come together as a group than right now. This year’s summer institute will address all of these issues and more. It will not only equip our administrators with a variety of tools, approaches, options and information that will help them throughout this next school year, but it will give them a chance to simply talk to their colleagues about all of what’s happening in Kentucky.”
From decorated combat veteran, American author and businessman, Wes Moore, and Dr. James Strong, Heritage Professor in the Educational Policy, Planning and Leadership area at the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia to Ken Kay, Chief Executive Officer of EdLeader21 and guru on integrating the 4Cs (critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity) into classrooms and internationally-recognized Charlotte Danielson, an expert in the area of teacher effectiveness, specializing in the design of teacher evaluation systems, this year’s KASA Summer Institute has all the markings of being something really, really special.
“There is still time to register,” said Rhonda Caldwell, Deputy Director of KASA. “We know funds are tight, time is short and demands are overwhelming for our members, but if I could say one thing face-to-face to each of our 3,000 members, it would be simply, ‘Make the time, find the funds, block out other demands and register. Register now. You need to do this for yourself, for your school, district and students. Everyone you serve will benefit.’”
Registration continues through the KASA website at Go to Leadership Development, then Annual Summer Institute and click on the button, “Register Today.” Anyone needing assistance can call the KASA office at (800) 928-KASA.
KASA is the largest school administrator group in Kentucky, representing more than 3,000 education leaders from across the commonwealth. Formed in 1969, KASA connects education leaders to policymakers, legislators, and other interest groups, and provides numerous benefits and services to Kentucky’s school administrators.
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