FT. WRIGHT, Ky. (WKRC) – Kenton County schools will begin the new year on Wednesday, August 14.
This year, the district wants to further improve reading skills.
Last year, Kenton County Schools purchased a new elementary-level reading tool, and as a result, the district is enjoying some small successes as the new school year begins.
“We have received a lot of positive feedback from our parents, our students and our teachers,” said Chief Academic Officer Shawna Harney.
The district has purchased the Amplify CKLA program to teach the Commonwealth’s reading standards. The program provides reading materials that present grade-appropriate reading topics through stories and activities from other subjects, such as science or social studies.
“It provides a lot of background knowledge. So students go home and tell their parents what they learned about the Vikings, or about a particular topic related to science or social studies,” Harney said.
Harney said the program helps teachers overcome the difficulties of finding resources to teach the standards independently outside the classroom.
“This has significantly limited our teachers’ time outside the classroom,” Harney said.
Data from the Kentucky Department of Education for the 2023-2024 school year shows that Kenton County schools achieved a grade of “green,” the second highest, in reading and math at both the elementary and middle school levels.
Kenton County high schools received a grade of “yellow,” the third highest rating in the same categories for this year.
“In every school, in every grade level in our Kenton County School District, we exceeded the state’s percentage proficiency levels. We were very pleased with that. We are reducing the number of students who are not reading well, so those were some gains we made in our first year that we are very pleased with,” Harney said.
Annie Brown of Local 12 asked Harney what the district’s reading goals are for the 2024-2025 school year:
“We want to make sure that we continue the implementation of this new resource and the way that we teach reading by meeting our people where they are. By continuing that high-quality professional learning and making sure that we’re using this resource reliably. And of course, to continue to improve our reading literacy outcomes for students,” Harney explained.
The district’s school board plans to review the resource and its effectiveness in five years.
