Welcome and Thanks

2. Welcome and Thanks • Thanks to Prichard Committee, Commerce Lexington, Legislators, Community Members • Thanks to FCPS Board Members and Staff

3. Purpose for Tonight • Share our progress • Outline Successes, Accomplishments, Challenges, and Needs

4. Our District • 33,000 students (second largest in Kentucky) • 54 schools • Approximately 40% of students live in poverty • 33.6% minority children • 37 different languages spoken with 1663 ESL students (growing at about 200 per year) • $270 Million dollar budget • More than 70% of our teachers hold advance degrees

5. Academics • Academically, the district has its success stories and its challenges • As you know, we have been in a period of leadership transition for sometime, and leadership is key in ensuring academic success district wide • However, our board, teachers, staff, and principals have continued to work hard through these changes

6. Markers of Success From This Year’s Testing Results • 9 point gain in math scores at the elementary level • 4 elementary schools ranked among the top 30 in the state, 6 in the top 100 (out of nearly 800 schools) Veterans Park is number 4, Maxwell is number 12, SCAPA 24, and Rosa Parks is number 26. • 7 point gain in science scores at the middle school level. • 6 middle schools ranked in the top 100 across the state, out of nearly 350, Morton and Beaumont Middle schools are in the top 20 in the state with SCAPA in the top 25 • 10 point gain in social studies scores at the high school level • 4 high schools ranked among the top 50 in the state (out of 240 schools), and ranked 5th in the state among county school districts. Dunbar, Henry Clay and Lafayette High Schools are in the top 21 in the state

7. Other Highlights • Elementary writing scores have increased 12 points between 1999 and 2004 • Middle School writing scores have climbed more than 10 points between 1999 and 2004 and High School writing scores increased 9 points during this same period • Arts and Humanities scores have risen 13 points since 1999

8. Outscoring State and National On College Entrance Tests • FCPS students consistently score higher on college entrance tests than both the state and national averages • SAT scores rose from 1,120 in 1999 to 1,142 in 2004 as you will see on the next chart

10. ACT Scores Above State and National Averages • The same holds true for ACT scores. FCPS students are scoring higher than the state and national averages • This year our students scored an average of 21.8 on the ACT college entrance exam

12. Academic Challenges • While our CATS and CTBS indices were at an all-time high and our college entrance scores are above state and national averages, we have a lot of work to do • We continue to have achievement gaps and we are still struggling in certain content areas

13. Academic Challenges Contd. • One of our biggest challenges is in the area of writing and this has become an area of focus for teacher training and efforts to improve our curriculum and instructional practices • We have content academies scheduled this winter to help our teachers learn strategies to help our kids in specific content areas and we are visiting other schools across the state to learn from them • One of those schools is our own Picadome Elementary school where writing scores have risen 40 points over the last 4-5 years

14. Analysis of Gaps • Our school district is quite fortunate to have an involved community that holds high expectations for its schools. It’s a rare community that holds dear the idea that EVERY student will reach the highest standard, not making excuses for why some students drop out of school or don’t learn to read with their peers. This expectation sets our district apart from many others and it is in that spirit that our focus on a variety of ethnic, economic, and special needs achievement gaps are critical.

17. District CATS Summary • The state goal is to reach 100 by 2014 and our district has set 2008 for our target as a higher standard. We are not yet where we need to be at this time to accomplish this goal but we are moving in the right direction • Elementary scores have risen from 70.2 in 1999 to 80.8 in 2004 • Middle School scores rose from 68.7 to 77.1 in this same period • High School scores rose from 72.8 to 77.3

18. No Child Left Behind • Although NCLB is well intentioned and no one wants to leave any child behind, the law carries what many now say are “unintended problems” • For example, more than $1 million dollars once spent on other programs for our kids have been diverted to implement this program. Additionally, it created chaos with transfers of students at the beginning of the school year.

19. NCLB Results • In order to be considered successful, a school must reach 100% of its targets. A school making 99% of its targets is considered to be not making adequate yearly progress (AYP) • 25 of 34 elementary schools made AYP • 8 of 11 middle schools made AYP • 3 of 5 high schools made AYP • Our district made 23 out of 25 targets – only missing the targets for reading for students with limited English proficiency and students with disabilities. Strategies are in place to address both of these areas of need.

20. Other Indicators Other areas we are monitoring are: • Dropout rates • Truancy • Suspension and discipline data • Transition to adult life • Business partnerships • Time does not permit us to go into detail on these tonight but we did want you to know that we are monitoring other areas. This information is available for anyone who would like to have it.

21. Some Of The Things We Are Doing To Improve • The One Community/One Voice action plan • Federal “Reading First” grants • Leadership development

22. OCOV • The One Community/One Voice committee’s recommendations have been incorporated into an action plan aimed at aligning classroom practices, budgeting, leadership, and community involvement issues into a single focused goal. With this plan our district has joined hands in a partnership with the community that most districts would envy. • Our goal is to have ALL students proficient in reading by the end of the primary grades. This has been totally a local and grant funded effort. • Each month our Board receives an update on our progress on this plan

23. Federal “Reading First” Grants • 11 of our elementary schools – more than any other district in Kentucky – were awarded “Reading First” grants, providing funds to help ensure reading proficiency by establishing high-quality, comprehensive reading instruction in grades K-3

24. Leadership Development • Everything rises and falls on Leadership… John Maxwell • We are in the process of intense leadership development with our staff. As they continue to grow, our student achievement levels will follow.

25. UK and LCC Partnerships • We recently announced a major partnership with the University of Kentucky where they will be working intensely with two of our elementary schools -Booker T. Washington and The Academy. • We just formed a dual credit partnership with LCC where our high school seniors can earn both high school and college credit at the same time. • It is partnerships like these that will allow us to show the rest of Kentucky and our nation that ALL kids can achieve at high levels.

26. Community Summit • In mid-January or early February we will be hosting a community-wide summit on education • The purpose will be to look at the next 13 years and what our kids will need to enhance or overcome barriers to their education. Music, the arts, foreign language, chess, literacy, family involvement, community involvement, etc. are some of the things we will be asking our community to help us with. These will all tie into the OCOV action plan.

27. Facilities Accomplishments • Our Board and District are committed to providing adequate and quality facilities for our kids • Over the last 8 years we have made $126 million dollars in construction improvements, including a $13.2 million dollar middle school (E.J. Hayes) and an $8.7 million dollar renovation at LTMS

28. Facilities Contd. • A new high school to replace BSHS is in the works along with a new elementary school in the growing Todds Road area • We are moving in the right direction in trying to provide quality facilities for our students but we have a long way to go and face many challenges

29. Facilities Challenges • Our local planning committee, made up of community volunteers and staff has determined that we have $162 million dollars in unmet construction and renovation needs • Yet, we only have $78.8 million in bonding potential that will become available between now and 2012

30. Facilities Needs Contd. • We will be discussing the state funding mechanism later, but basically, aside from minimal SFCC funding, we do not receive any new state funding for facilities as other districts do in the state • We are challenged to raise new funding locally

31. Funding • FCPS is one of three districts in Kentucky (out of 176) considered to be a “Hold Harmless” district. Basically, this means that Fayette County is considered a rich district and is frozen at state funding levels set back in the early 1990s. • For example, when the General Assembly mandates and funds a state raise for teachers, FCPS does not receive any of the funding allocated to cover these costs. We must fund these mandates locally with no support from the state level. • Yet, we only rank 46th in the state with a total revenue of $8,009 per student, and 34th in total expenditures at $8,121 per child.

32. Funding Contd. • This is creating a serious situation for the kids in our schools. Any new revenue we raise locally is having to go to fund these state mandated raises with no money left to expand for programs for our kids. • For example: If the General Assembly mandates a 3% raise and provides funding to districts that FCPS does not receive, it will cost us $7.4 million dollars that will all have to be raised locally.

33. Impact of State Mandated Raises • In seven years Fayette County has lost $40 million dollars due to mandated raises where FCPS did not receive its share of the state funding provided by the General Assembly • It is important to know that we are not asking to change the SEEK formula, because we recognize it does help many kids who live in poor counties. We are just asking for some help in funding these mandated raises.

34. Summary of Lost Funding

35. Other Funding Needs • The state only recognizes ½ day kindergarten and only funds ¼ of our costs in this area. We need help in this funding area. • Thanks to past state funding we now rely heavily on technology in our schools. However, over the last few years these funds have shrunk to the point that we can no longer keep pace with the need to replace obsolete computers and other technology. • Our Limited English Proficient students are growing by about 200 per year and there is no funding from the state to help these students.

36. Examples Of What We Are Doing To Insure Efficiency • Board commissioned full district audit of all operations, including finance • Board commissioned full audit of district personnel numbers • Working towards zero-based budgeting • Board approved the hiring of a CFO to oversee the budget • Developing an energy management plan to reduce utility costs • Piloted needs-based funding allocations this year

37. Goals and Priorities The Board has set the following goals for the superintendent in his first year in Fayette County. I am happy to say that we are making significant progress on these. • Raise student achievement • Establish a culture that focuses full attention on kids • Develop an organizational structure that focuses full attention on kids • Improve the district’s financial structure • Improve communications

38. Some More Positives • We have a very dedicated and committed Board of Education. Our Board is in process of meeting with all 51 different Site Based Councils. Each of these meetings lasts between 1 and 1 ½ hours. Our Board is out there listening to the needs of our schools. • We have one of the strongest music programs in the state. Just this year, four of our high schools finished in the top five in their classes at the state championships. Dunbar was the state champion of the largest class in the state. • We have a multitude of extra and co-curricular activities for our kids and we watch them excel in their endeavors.

39. Some More Positives Contd. • A success story with ESL students is Russell Cave Elementary. That school has one of the highest percentages of Limited English speaking students in the district at 42% percent. Yet, the school still met all of its NCLB targets. We will study and share the school’s ESL sheltered instruction strategies and apply them in similar areas across the district. • We have one of the top PTA organizations in the country. • We have outstanding teachers, staff, and principals with a community that supports our efforts. The quality of people in Lexington is one of our major strengths. • And we live by one philosophy ---------