Ed | Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence

Ky. Postsecondary Moves Forward, Even in Pandemic

The Council on Postsecondary Education’s 2021 Stronger By Degrees Progress Report http://cpe.ky.gov/data/reports/2021progressreport.pdf shows growth worth celebrating in overall educational attainment, KCTCS graduation rates, and STEM+H degrees, along with slower progress on bachelor graduation rates and a concerning decline in higher education enrollment. This year, that good news is especially impressive:…

SENIORS EXPECT A NEW LANDSCAPE OF CHALLENGES, CHANGE

Over the past year, the Class of 2021 experienced stinging sacrifices, potentially life-changing insights and a range of hardships and new options they describe as certain to shape their entry into the adult world. As glimmers emerge promising a return to normal school operations after a year of remote learning,…

Time for Communities to Come to the Table

As our children are heading back to school, the COVID-19 vaccine is become more available, and many of us are beginning to head back to our respective offices, our attention is rightly turning to recovery. For us at the Prichard Committee, that means education recovery. How do we take everything…

What Does the American Rescue Plan Mean for Education in Kentucky?

Kentucky is expected to receive an estimated $2.4 billion from the American Recovery Plan’s State Fiscal Recovery Fund. This large pot of money can be used for a broad set of purposes including infrastructure necessary for our future success – like broadband (for which the General Assembly already dedicated $250…

Kentucky General Assembly makes gains on Big Bold Ask in 2021 session

The General Assembly completed the 2021 legislative session last night having spent the final two days considering vetoes by the Governor and negotiating a plan for the over $2 billion Kentucky is to receive in American Rescue Plan stimulus funds. The passage of House Bill 192, the revised state budget,…

How has the COVID-19 Pandemic Impacted College Students?

We asked current and prospective Kentucky college students to share how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted their education plans and experiences. Questions were asked of high school seniors, currently and/or recently enrolled college students, and adults not currently enrolled in higher education. Nearly 1,000 responded in total.

AFTER A YEAR OF PANDEMIC, SCHOOLS SEE FRONTS FOR MOVING AHEAD

Leaders at some Kentucky elementary schools making the strongest progress in creating student proficiency prior to the pandemic see a new landscape ahead as vaccines offer promise for a return to normalcy.

Founding Champion for Education Improvement Encouraged Us to the End

Al Smith, a founding member of the Prichard Committee, died on Friday, March 19, at his home in Florida after suffering renal failure. He was 94. Smith was appointed in 1980 as an original member of the Committee on Higher Education in Kentucky’s Future. After issuing its report the following…

Analysis: State Budget Still Coping with Covid-19 – What Does this Mean for Education?

The increases in CAP needs-based financial aid and to postsecondary institutions are a step forward on two of the seven items in the Prichard Committee’s Big Bold Ask. The budget did not strengthen Kentucky’s investment in the other priorities in that Ask: child care assistance, public preschool, fully-funded kindergarten, fully-funded…