Contact: Lisa Deffendall • First Posted: Monday, May 11, 2009

• Read the full report  

In a stunning endorsement of school district direction, improvement, culture and leadership, the Fayette County Public Schools has received the state’s best-ever scholastic audit from the Kentucky Department of Education. With kudos for tremendous community support and involvement, the report lauds the district’s focus on students, culture of high expectations and philosophy of no excuses. 

“Fayette County has received the highest rating of any district review the department has conducted since the inception of this process,” said Wayne Puckett, a retired Breckinridge County superintendent who led the audit team. “That is a tribute to the exemplary leadership in the district and the outstanding partnerships that leadership has put together such as the 2020 Vision initiative, the Equity Council and many other partnerships that have been established.”

During the scholastic review, Fayette County was rated in 88 different areas. Scores ranged from 1 to 4, with a 3 being the benchmark for “fully functioning and operational.” State officials have said that a 3 is the target for school districts; scores of a 4 – indicating “exemplary” levels – are very rare.

Overall, Fayette County received 54 exemplary ratings of 4 (61 percent) and 29 fully functioning ratings of 3 (33 percent). In its last scholastic review in 2003, Fayette earned only five 4s. The most 4s ever given to a district previously was eight.

“When you look at where we’ve come from 2003 as a district, I’m very proud of the work our teachers, staff and community are doing for our kids,” said Fayette County Schools Superintendent Stu Silberman. “We’re not where we want to be, but the progress shows we are on the road in the right direction.”

The report examines district efforts and accomplishments in the areas of curriculum; assessment; instruction; school culture; student, family and community support; professional growth, development and evaluation; leadership; school organization and fiscal resources; and comprehensive and effective planning.

The district received five ratings of 2 (6 percent), indicating “partial implementation”: four in the area of professional growth, and one related to district report cards. The professional growth marks related to a situation where a handful of teachers at one school did not have professional growth plans in place. That situation was corrected within 24-hours of the audit team discovering the issue, and a monitoring system has been established to keep that from happening again. The issue with progress reports is related to the need to revise a school district policy. That change is on this month’s school board agenda.

The report also includes suggested areas of improvement, which were areas of focus already identified by district leaders, including continued work to monitor and support classroom instructional practices as required to eliminate achievement gaps.  Prior to the Scholastic Review district monitoring efforts, including walkthroughs and a Scholastic Review self-study, identified this as a need in many schools, and professional development planning is under way to this end. District staff will also continue to implement culturally responsive teaching and learning training so that all employees are actively engaged in this work.

The Scholastic Review was conducted in mid-March by a team of 30 educators and parents representing the Kentucky Department of Education.  The team spent five days in the district and interviewed more than 100 staff members (teachers and administrators), community civic and government leaders, and students; conducted nearly 300 classroom observations; and spent countless hours reviewing several hundred district documents and publications.

Results from that review process were used to develop a district profile using the Standards and Indicators for School Improvement, a KDE-developed document that is based on national and international research on quality school programs and practices. Fayette County was one of 41 school districts audited this year by the state Department of Education.

Report highlights include:

• “District leadership has created a comprehensive, collaborative relationship with the community. This relationship is marked by extensive, open communication and has resulted in a comprehensive, long-range, shared vision for a world-class education system for the children of Fayette County.
• “The long- and short-range planning process of the district is a model of collaborative work between a school district and its community. The transparency of the process, the ongoing involvement of stakeholders in the development and evaluation of the plan and the extensive research and evaluation during plan development and implementation has resulted in a high degree of trust between the district and its community.”
• The Fayette County Public School District has created a culture of high expectations for all students and staff in the district. Student achievement is highly valued and celebrated throughout the district and community. The board of education and district leadership deliver a strong message to all stakeholders that district staff members are committed to continuous improvement for all students. The district’s “It’s About Kids” belief structure guides district and school decision-making. A “No Excuses” philosophy permeates the district and community.