Boone County Schools a national example

by Justin Duke, Boone Co. Recorder

When eight of the largest education organizations in the nation came together to redefine the future of education, they pointed to Boone County Schools as an example of how to do it.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten and leaders of the other organizations came together at the 2012 Labor Management Conference to sign the “Transforming the Teaching Profession” document, which is a call to action for changing many traditions in education to help teachers grow students who are ready to take on the changing world.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, center, meets with the Boone County Schools team at the Labor Management Conference in Cincinnati. With Duncan is: Ed Massey, left, Tom Haddock, Rick Jones and Ken Cook.

“We all felt that sense of urgency,” Duncan said.

The document signing was historic because it was the first time that many organizations agreed on such large changes.

“I think we’re going to redefine the educational system in the next few years,” said Council of Chief State School Officers executive director Gene Wilholt.

In a panel discussion of the leaders, they described the need for school district administrators, boards of education and teachers to work together, and not in opposition as they often do, to help students succeed.

National School Boards Association executive director Anne Bryant pointed to Boone County Schools as an example of a district that is already doing this.

“They recognized they didn’t have what they needed,” Bryant said.

A few years ago, the three parties realized there wasn’t money, staffing or a system in place to keep their teachers growing in their profession, she said.

The Boone district created instructional coaches to work with teachers throughout the year that allowed for continuous professional development without adding any additional costs, Bryant told the panelists.

The cooperation continued again this year as teachers agreed to not take raises in order to save 46 teaching positions while the district was suffering funding cuts, she said.

“It’s a rubber meets the road story,” Bryant said.

Boone County Schools was invited to present the district’s labor management techniques at the conference.

Despite the conference taking place in Cincinnati with more than 100 districts from 40 states presenting, Boone County was the only district from Kentucky invited.