The Kentucky Department of Education recently released its Kentucky Innovation Guide, recognizing multiple schools for their success in improving education on the local and statewide levels. In the report, Fleming County was commended for its innovation in creating new measures for student and school success.
Fleming County Schools was one of the first Kentucky districts to introduce the Portrait of a Graduate framework, which has since been adopted and recommended by the KDE. Since then, officials said the district has continued innovating.
Brian Creasman is the Superintendent of Fleming County Schools. He said his district, unlike many others, enforces the Portrait of a Graduate model by requiring students to provide tangible evidence of their skills in each category.
“We require students to upload artifacts that demonstrate grade-level readiness in terms of those competencies. A lot of districts put up posters, and really there’s no evaluation of if the students are developing those skills or not,” said Creasman.
Fleming uses six categories to measure competence: communication, teamwork, innovation and creativity, problem-solving, growth, and service.
Creasman said the district is working on its 4th version of the local accountability model, which he said will make a lasting impact on the local district as well as statewide.
“This is a great opportunity the Kentucky State Board of Education and the Kentucky Department of Education has provided school districts to really explore, innovate, and figure out how to create an accountability model that’s more meaningful to students,” said Creasman. “And that’s more informative to stakeholders- especially parents and businesses and industry.”
The upcoming iteration of the district’s accountability model is set for release in September. Fleming County schools serve about 2,200 students, most of whom are rural and low-income. More information on their accountability model can be found in the KDE’s recently released Innovation Guide, available online at education.ky.gov.