704 Ky. Admin. Regs. 3:500

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 5, November 1, 2024

Section 704 KAR 3:500 - Professional Development Leadership and Mentor Fund

RELATES TO: KRS 157.390

NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: KRS 157.390 authorizes the Kentucky Board of Education to promulgate an administrative regulation for administration of a Professional Development Leadership and Mentor Fund to provide additional compensation to a classroom teacher or administrator for serving as a classroom mentor, teaching partner, or professional development leader in core discipline areas. This administrative regulation establishes the guidelines for programs and activities that qualify for funds including the application and approval process for receipt of funds, the individual participant requirements, the amount of compensation, the timelines, and the reporting requirements.

Section 1. Definitions.

(1) "Classroom mentor" means a highly-skilled, experienced teacher or administrator possessing current professional knowledge and the specific pedagogy in mathematics, language arts, writing, science, social studies, arts and humanities, practical living and vocational studies, or reading who provides systematic and on-going support and assistance to other teachers in a school or school district to help them improve their teaching skills and practices.

(2) "Highly skilled" means documented expertise in content knowledge, student learning, and assessment, the ability to teach all students to meet the proficient standard, and the ability to use effective communication skills with other professionals.

(3) "Professional development leader" means a highly-skilled teacher or administrator who serves in a supportive, ongoing role to provide professional development training and materials to teachers.

(4) "Teaching partner" means a highly-skilled teacher or administrator who is available during the school day to collaborate, teach, and work with a teacher within the classroom setting.

Section 2. Purpose of Program. The Professional Development Leadership and Mentor Fund provides competitive grants to pay one (1) or more teachers or administrators additional compensation to develop and implement an action plan for improving the academic performance of students.

Section 3. Selection of Grants.

(1) A public school that enrolls students that includes grades P-12 shall be eligible to compete for a $10,000 grant. Preference shall be given to schools with a high percentage of students scoring at the novice level on the core content section of the Kentucky Core Content Test (KCCT) that relates to the area for which the mentor program is focused.

(2) The following organizations may apply for the grant:

(a) A school council or school;

(b) A school jointly with one (1) or more schools, e.g., a high school and feeder middle school;

(c) A school district; or

(d) A school district jointly with one (1) or more school districts.

(3) The application shall be submitted by June 15, 2001 and by May 1 in subsequent years and have the approval of the participating district local board of education.

(4) Funds shall be made available to an eligible school through a request for proposal (RFP) process. A grant application shall indicate the fiscal agent as a local board of education or other entity eligible to enter into a memorandum of agreement to receive state education funds.

(5)

(a) Priority shall be given to applications in 2001-2002 for mentoring programs designed to improve reading instruction for all students in the school resulting in increased reading assessment scores. In subsequent years, and based on the available funds, the Kentucky Board of Education shall determine the core discipline areas and grade levels for which priority of funding shall be provided and notify eligible recipients.

(b) To be eligible for funding, an application shall:

1. Propose a project designed to improve instruction for all students in the school resulting in increased assessment scores in the focus core area;

2. Designate a position as a classroom mentor, teaching partner, or professional development leader who will receive additional compensation (separate and apart from the base salary) for planning and facilitating the project, providing professional development for fellow teachers, and working in classrooms with teachers. Assistance may be focused on improving the skills in instruction of emergency-certified teachers;

3. Include an assessment of need and rationale for proposing the project;

4. Describe how the district will support the project and include a provision for improving the knowledge and skills of the classroom mentor, teaching partner, or professional development leader through ongoing professional development funded by the school or district; and

5. Describe how the project will be evaluated.

(6) The Commissioner of Education shall appoint a panel of educators knowledgeable about instruction to review the applications for funding based on the following criteria:

(a) Percentage of students scoring at the novice level on the KCCT;

(b) Effectiveness of the description of the rationale for the project;

(c) Effectiveness of the model proposed for the project;

(d) Level of commitment of the district, school and classroom mentor, teaching partner, or professional development leader;

(e) Qualifications of the classroom mentor, teaching partner, or professional development leader to assist teachers and plan for his or her own professional development;

(f) Quality of the plan to evaluate results of the project; and

(g) Efficiency and effectiveness of the budget.

(7) Applications that involve other partners such as a feeder school, a higher education institution, or other interested entity, or that integrate the proposal with existing school programs, shall receive additional consideration.

(8) After consideration of the criteria established in subsection (6) of this section, geographic distribution may be considered.

Section 4. District Requirements.

(1) A payment made from this fund under the requirements of this administrative regulation shall be disbursed by the Department of Education directly to the local school district in which the mentor is employed for the July 1 to June 30 fiscal year.

(2) The local school district shall be responsible for disbursing the payment to the mentor and deducting any relevant withholdings prior to disbursing the funds to the mentor.

(3) A local school district shall verify that the mentoring activities have been accomplished and request reimbursement by May 1 of the grant year.

704 KAR 3:500

28 Ky.R. 759; 1125; eff. 11-5-2001; Crt eff. 11-16-2018.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS 157.390