Task Force Will Support Common Core Professional Learning System in the State

DALLAS—April 3, 2012—As part of Learning Forward’s initiative to develop a statewide, comprehensive professional learning system to support educators in Kentucky as the state implements Common Core State Standards (CCSS), more than 40 members of the Kentucky education community have been selected to serve on a task force to lead the initiative.

The task force, which includes representation from all stakeholders impacted by the initiative, will review current policies and recommendations to charter a new course in statewide professional development standards that is tied to the Common Core. In partnership with the initiative’s advisory council, critical friends, and Learning Forward staff, the task force will develop tools such as materials, protocols, and strategies to sustain the planning and improvement of professional development in preparation of the Common Core implementation in Kentucky.

Members of the task force are:

Susan Allred, Associate Commissioner of the Office of District 180, Kentucky Department of Education
Todd Baldwin, Research and Policy Analyst, Office of the Commissioner, Kentucky Department of Education
Mona Ball, Research, Kentucky Education Association
Greta Bornemann, Director of Mathematics, Washington State Department of Education
Belinda Bowling, Special Education Cooperative Representative, Wilderness Trail Education Co-Op
Cherry Boyles, Instructional Supervisor, Washington County Schools
Kathy Burkhardt, Superintendent, Erlanger-Elsmere Independent School District
Sue Cain, College Readiness Coordinator, Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education
Kathy Carrollton, Program Manager, Professional Learning, Georgia Department of Education
Charlotte Chowning, KE Field Staff, Office of Knowledge, Information, and Data Services, Kentucky Department of Education
Cory Curl, Senior Fellow, Assessment and Accountability, Achieve, Inc.
John DeAtley, Director, P-20 Initiatives, Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education
Victoria Duff, Teacher Quality Coordinator, New Jersey Department of Education
Kirsten Fleming, Executive Director, Kentucky Center for Mathematics
Michael Flory, Research Analyst, Regional Education Lab/Kentucky Department of Education
Bob Fortney, Senior Consultant, Office of Next-Generation Schools and Districts, Kentucky Department of Education
Jana Beth Francis, Director of Assessment, Research and Curriculum Development, Daviess County Public Schools
Alice Gabbard, Director of Diagnostic Intervention Programs, Kentucky Center for Mathematics
Cindy Galloway, Principal, Deer Park Elementary, Daviess County Public Schools
Bryant Gillis, Principal, Tichenor Middle School, Erlanger-Elsmere Independent School District
Kim Goff, Director, Curriculum Instruction and Assessment—Math and Science, Jefferson County Public Schools
Saundra Hamon, Assistant Director, Division of Program Standards, Kentucky Department of Education
Ronda Harmon, Executive Director, Kentucky Association of School Councils
Jeff Hawkins, Executive Director, Kentucky Valley Education Cooperative
Janet Jeanes, Senior Policy Consultant, Kentucky School Board Association
Diane Johnson, Assistant Director of P-12 Math and Science Outreach Unit (MSOU) of PIMSER, University of Kentucky
Karen Kidwell, Director, Division of Program Standards and Project Manager, Kentucky Leadership Networks, Kentucky Department of Education
Shirley LaFavers, Director, Division of Professional Development, Kentucky Association of School Administrators
Ann Larson, Vice Dean and Professor, Department of Teaching and Learning, University of Louisville College of Education & Human Development
Starr Lewis, Liaison for School & District Partnerships, University of Louisville, College of Education & Human Development
Brady Link, Superintendent, Christian County Schools
Roger Marcum, Vice Chair, Kentucky Board of Education
Joseph McCowan, Continuous Instructional Improvement Technology System (CIITS) Product Manager, Office of Next-Generation Learners, Kentucky Department of Education
David Millanti, Audit & Compliance Branch, Office of District 180, Kentucky Department of Education
Robyn Oatley, Project Manager, Ready Kentucky, Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence
Marty Park, KE Field Staff, Office of Knowledge, Information, and Data Services, Kentucky Department of Education
Toyah Robey, Director, Division of Student Success, Kentucky Department of Education
Bill Scott, Executive Director, Kentucky Association of School Boards
Felicia Cumings Smith, Associate Commissioner, Office of Next-Generation Learners, Kentucky Department of Education
Karen Soule, Administrator, Bureau of Credentialing, New Hampshire Department of Education
Jamie Spugnardi, Kentucky State Liaison, Appalachia Regional Comprehensive Center at Edvantia
Jeffrey Stamper, Professional Development Consultant, Office of Next-Generation Schools and Districts, Kentucky Department of Education
Liz Storey, Director, Kentucky Superintendents Network, Kentucky Association of School Superintendents
Keith Sturges, Educational Anthropologist, Appalachia Regional Comprehensive Center at Edvantia
Tina Tipton, Chief Academic Officer/Deputy CEO, Ohio Valley Education Cooperative
Terry S. Tolan, Executive Director, Governor’s Office of Early Childhood
Janie Tomek, Assistant Superintendent, Christian County Public Schools
Mary Gwen Wheeler, Executive Director, 55,000 Degrees, and Member, Kentucky Board of Education
Elizabeth Whitehouse, Education Cabinet Member, Early Childhood Advisory Council

Representatives from six additional states, Georgia, Illinois, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Utah, and Washington, serve as critical friends to Kentucky in their effort to transform professional learning. Joellen Killion, senior advisor with Learning Forward, and Kathleen Paliokas, director of InTASC at Council of Chief State School Officers, facilitate the task force.

“We are thankful the task force members have taken on this important work in Kentucky,” said Stephanie Hirsh, executive director of Learning Forward. “This team of experts is hard at work advancing professional learning and enhancing Common Core instruction in the states.”

Kentucky was selected as the Demonstration State for the initiative, Transforming Professional Learning to Prepare College- and Career-Ready Students: Implementing the Common Core, and will receive training, coaching, and support from Learning Forward and other partner organizations over the next two years as a comprehensive plan is developed that incorporates professional learning practices and Common Core State Standards. The resources developed from the initiative will be made available to all states as they implement Common Core State Standards.

“Kentucky strives to ensure that all students are college and career ready upon graduation and have access to effective instruction and assessments based on the Common Core,” said Terry Holliday, Ph.D., Kentucky Commissioner of Education. “The partnership between Learning Forward, task force members, and educators will provide us with the guidance and support we need to work toward that goal and help other states do the same.”