Standing with Courage

Courage is a trait and a value. It’s a value I have discussed before in this blog.

Today, I want to discuss a different kind of courage than the courage to do the right thing. I want to discuss the inspirational type of courage. It is the kind of courage that I have had the great opportunity to witness first hand and I would like to share it with all of you.

February 28 was rare disease day. It gave me a nice reminder of an incredible individual, Ashley Kurpiel. Ashely has Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP). Since she was a small child, her connective tissue, ligaments and even muscle have been slowly turning to bone. When she was little, her doctors did not know what she had and diagnosed her with cancer. They removed her right arm thinking that was the best course of action. Unfortunately it exacerbated the problem.

I had the pleasure to teach Ashley when she was in about 10th grade. She was bright, bubbly and eternally optimistic. Certainly, many people could have felt sorry for Ashley or any child facing a challenging disability, but I would encourage us not to. Ashley has had TV specials done on her, traveled the world, surfed, met thousands of people, and maybe her most enjoyable activity, she owns and drives a golf cart. She has worked tirelessly to bring awareness to FOP, be a mentor for others with it, and all along has kept that beautiful smile. How many of us get worn down with our daily lives and want to give in to despair? How many of us see the challenges ahead and cower?

I am inspired by Ashley. I am inspired to smile in the face of adversity. I am inspired to stand for what is right. I am inspired to be the voice for all of our children, but especially those who cannot use their own voice.

We all should have Ashley’s courage. We all should be inspired by her and the thousands like her that face each day with a vision for the future.

There is a lot of change going on in Kentucky right now; some exciting, some scary. I am going to choose to be like Ashley. I am going to choose to move Kentucky forward with courage and boldly make decisions that will give every student a chance for a great education. You don’t have to have a rare disease to have courage, you simply need to have the heart for it. Kentucky has the heart, as pointed out in a poem by Jesse Stuart, “If these United States can be called a body, then Kentucky can be called its heart.”

Thank you Ashley, for showing me what courage looks like, and reminding all Kentuckians that they have the heart to stand with courage in the face of change.

Show some love for our public schools

Back in the 1970s, there was a TV drama called Kojak.  The show’s star, Telly Savalas, was bald and almost always seen with a lollipop in his mouth. He loved them almost as much as he loved to solve crimes.  His ever present catch phrase, “Who loves ya baby?” was used to remind the people around him that he loved them and had their backs.

You may be wondering, why is the commissioner of education is writing about a fictional TV character from decades ago?  Well, let me be more specific. This week, I want to focus on love -- not the deep emotional connection one has for another human being, but love, as in admiration and appreciation for the good job our educators are doing. So, during this Valentine's Day week, let’s take time to show some love for our public schools.  

Our educators work hard every day to teach and provide environments in which our students can learn.  Our bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and custodians provide care and safety to our 650,000 students each day. Kentucky continues to improve because of the dedication our educators and education shareholders have shown for more than 25 years. 

As an education community, we typically do not do a good job of telling our story.  We allow it to be told for us, and it is typically focused on how bad things are. To be sure, we have work to do.  Our achievement gap persists and we still have students performing well below their capability.  However, education is also the most complex of issues.  There are many factors that shape education such as school/district culture, socioeconomic status, preschool opportunity and many others.  There is no easy answer to solve the issues our teachers and system deals with on a daily basis -- if there was, I guarantee we would be employing that solution.

I do believe though that there is hope. Hope that a teacher provides each time he or she steps into a  classroom focused on providing each student an opportunity...hope that an administrator provides when they are focused on being instructional leaders.  Keeping faith in the system we have built, changing the things that need changing, and hard work will move the system and our students forward.

So, on this Valentine’s Day week, I ask our public schools out there, “Who loves ya baby?”  
Let me be the first to say, I do.

Thank a board of education member

January holds various meanings for different people. It is the beginning of a new year, a new legislative year, a time to refresh ourselves and I would argue our perceptions, and a time of hope. There is another aspect of January that many overlook, it is Local Board of Education Appreciation Month.

As I have stated many times before, it does not take a special month for me to appreciate our board members, or anyone else associated with the education of our students. Saying that, it is important to pause and recognize the work and commitment of our local board members in Kentucky.

Being a local board member is challenging. They have a tremendous responsibility. They have to make decisions on everything from how we ensure our students are fed to hiring the superintendent. They have to make difficult decisions that affect the lives and quality of education of students in their district and even hard decisions that affect the families and their taxes. They do not get to take a day off. They do not get the luxury of ignoring the community that elected them. Local board members have to make tough decisions, while also resisting the temptation to exert themselves and their own personal opinions into matters in which they have no place. Trust me, this is tough, but our best board members know how to work at a policy level to continually increase the level of quality of education for all students in the district.

At the end of the day, our local boards understand that they are there for students, not the personal interests of adults. Sure, there are some exceptions and unfortunately they get the attention. But, the vast majority of our board members are proud to stand with and for children. They are proud to take a stand to make hard decisions to give our students the best opportunity for a brighter future.

I call on all Kentuckians to thank their local board members. Even if there is a board member you do not agree with them, thank them for their time, service and dedication. They have earned your respect. I gladly give them mine. Thank you, local board members, for your service to our children.

Feeling blessed to work for our children’s futures

As I think back on the past year, there have been many significant events that have taken place for me. I testified on behalf of Kentucky in front of two congressional education committees; we made huge progress on the science assessment system; I had the opportunity to travel to many different parts of the state, see our state’s educators at work, and meet lots of new people; we started work on the new accountability system; we revamped program reviews; and we saw historic changes in our state’s politics.

In the coming year, while we continue to celebrate Kentucky remaining an education bellwether in the country, we also must realize that we have much work ahead of us. We still have achievement and opportunity gaps, which are our highest priority; we have to complete and begin implementation of our new accountability system; we have to change the narrative in our schools to be less about tests and more about quality instruction; and we have to remember that Kentuckians are known for their commitment to making quality change for our students.  

So, with all of this going on, why do I feel I am so blessed? Simply put, I love my job! I am blessed because I get to work with and for the students of the Commonwealth. They are why we do what we do. So, in this wonderful holiday season that is so focused on our children, I ask that each of you recommit yourselves to making the lives of our students better.

The pictures below show some of my past year, but these kids are our future and we must never forget that.

I wish all of you Merry Christmas and the happiest of holidays!

Stephen

KSB students inspire others

Earlier this month, I had the pleasure to attend a book premier party, but this was no ordinary launch event. It was the kickoff for the book, We Can Hear You Just Fine: Clarifications from the Kentucky School for the Blind, authored by several current and former students of our own state school for the blind and visually impaired. 

As I have said many times before, I am thankful for the opportunity to be the superintendent of the Kentucky School for the Blind (KSB) as well as the Kentucky School for the Deaf (KSD). I am particularly proud of the KSB students who had the courage and tenacity to share their stories.

The Louisville Story Program (LSP) played a large role in the production of this book. The program’s focus is to aid in the telling of stories for those who may have difficulty in sharing their own stories. From the LSP website, “The Louisville Story Program strengthens community by amplifying unheard voices and untold stories. We partner closely with overlooked Louisville residents by providing extensive writing and oral history workshops and intensive editorial support, culminating in professionally-designed documentary books, exhibits, and radio programs in which our authors tell the stories of their lives and communities in their own words.” The Louisville Story Program has done just that for our KSB students. 

At the launch event, we heard from LSP Director Darcy Thompson, and LSP Deputy Director Joe Manning. I would like to extend my personal thank you to these gentlemen and others who worked on this project. Additionally, we heard from the authors themselves. They read from the book to more than 200 in attendance, using different techniques from braille to electronic readers. The authors were incredible, and the support from the community was impressive, to say the least. 

Through the partnership with the Louisville Writing Program, authors Matthew Caudill, Haley Hall, Shane Lowe, Madelyn Loyd, Selena Tirey, Kianna Waller, and Cherish Willis poured themselves into writing their stories to inform us of their perspectives and to help those of us who are sighted to understand their world. I am not sure they set out to do more than that, but they did. Their stories, their passion and their commitment, inspire us to move beyond our own perceived limitations. They inspire us to be more, to realize that every student deserves an opportunity, and too really believe that every student can do great things if given the opportunity. 

I am told periodically that we should not penalize schools because special needs students may “bring down the test scores.” I say, who are we to deprive anyone of the opportunity to shine? Who are we, as adults/educators to decide who deserves opportunities? We cannot begin to make the changes we need to make in education until we realize that our job is to create the environment that allows each student to pursue his or her passion. It may be hard for everyone to understand, but all of our students possess abilities that inspire us – if we just provide the opportunity.  

I cannot tell you how proud I am to be the superintendent of KSB and KSD – not just because of their dedicated faculty and staff, but because these students keep me grounded and inspire me to be my best. Thank you Matthew, Haley, Shane, Madelyn, Selena, Kianna, and Cherish. Thank you for sharing the best of who you are to inspire us and awaken us to a future of possibilities.  

For information on We Can Hear You Just Fine: Clarifications from the Kentucky School for the Blind, please visit http://louisvillestoryprogram.org/projects/more-than-what-you-see-dispatches-from-the-kentucky-school-for-the-blind.

Taking time to give thanks

Thanksgiving week is a time for us to pause and give thanks for the past year. I encourage all of my readers to take time and either verbally or in writing share the things you are thankful for.

I have a lot to be thankful for. First, and always first, is my family. I am a proud husband and father.  I have an incredible wife who has been with me through every major life change and in many ways has been responsible for my biggest achievements. I have thought many times that I would not be where I am today, both literally and figuratively, if she had not been there to encourage me and challenge me to think bigger. I am thankful for two children that love their family and friends, care about others and want to pursue bright futures. I am additionally thankful for the friends who have embraced my daughter in the past year. Moving as a junior in high school is tough, but she found great friends that treat her as if she grew up with them.

I am thankful for the people of Kentucky. Time and again, the people here show a great love for the state, each other and a commitment for improving the lives of our children. I have never felt more at home than here. In fact, Kentucky has been so good to my family, we are hopeful my daughter will actually attend college in the state. Trust me, this is a big deal as she had no desire to be in-state in any of our previous states.

Finally, I am thankful for the opportunity I have been given to be the Commissioner of Education for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. I am thankful for our Kentucky Board of Education, whose members work tirelessly on our student’s behalf. I am thankful for our students, our teachers, our administrators and all of our shareholders in education. I am thankful for the opportunity to work with and for our Kentucky School for the Blind (that just published a wonderful book I will write about next week) and our Kentucky School for the Deaf. And, I am thankful to work with an incredibly talented staff at the Kentucky Department of Education, that is dedicated to supporting our districts in educating all the children of our state.

As a Commonwealth, we are not satisfied with where we are, but we also acknowledge the work so far. No matter who I come across, there is a real commitment to improving education – not just for the sake of improving it, but in an effort to make it better for our students. We all may not agree all of the time, but we all seem to realize that our focus must be on Our Students, Our Commonwealth. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

An important week ahead

We have a big week ahead of us and I hope you are all preparing. There are decisions to be made, strategies to be set into motion and completed, and transitions to be planned. Yes, this week we celebrate Veterans Day.

You probably thought I was going to spend my blog discussing the election. Well, I figure there are plenty of other people already doing that, and I actually do all I can to stay out of the politics and simply focus on education and our students. Of course, the election will have a big impact on our lives both nationally and locally. The only thing I will say about Election Day is to remind you of how important it is to exercise your right to vote, and to thoroughly consider your vote for local school board members. Those races are not about party or politics, they are about who will make good decisions and policies for children.

Veterans Day is a big day this week – one of the most important holidays on the calendar, in my opinion. It is so much more than a day off work for some. It is a day to remember and reflect on how much we owe to our military members AND their families for the sacrifices that they have made for our country and our freedom.

Who does not love the videos on Facebook or the news that show a soldier’s homecoming? We love it because they are home safely, but I guarantee we do not love it nearly as much as their family, especially the children. As we observe Veterans Day this week, let us not forget that our veteran’s sacrifice is not theirs alone. It is their entire family that makes a sacrifice of time with their loved one and sometimes the ultimate sacrifice of their loved one’s life, which impacts that family forever.

I am pleased that for the past decade, all of our Kentucky public schools have devoted at least one class period to the observance of Veterans Day per KRS 158.075. I believe it is important that our students understand why we appreciate and honor our veterans – especially the young ones who may not understand why mom or dad must leave for long periods of time. They need to understand and see that we all appreciate what they are doing for our country. They need to see that while they are sacrificing time with that parent, they are doing so for a most noble cause.

I would like to express my personal heartfelt thank you to our veterans. We owe you more than we give you credit for and more than we can adequately express in just one day. The election we are having this week is because of you and your sacrifices. You have allowed us to disagree, to voice our opinion and to cast a vote of our own free will. Thank you for providing us with our freedom and without asking for anything in return. I hope you all know how much I appreciate you. And I hope that we will all take time to say thank you this Friday.

Yes, this is a big week not only because we are electing new leaders, but because we celebrate the special men and women who have given us that right and so much more.