Transition Accountability: Laurel County

The Sentinel-Echo offers the details of a school board discussion that's deeply invested in keeping the focus on improving performance:

Laurel County superintendents and school board members expressed their concern Monday over the crumbling of the CATS test, with unaccountability the top worry. According to Senate Bill 1, state-level accountability has been suspended for the next two school years until a new assessment system can be developed.

School board member Tommy Smith was the most vocal in his unease.

“Is there not going to be a goal?” he said in response to a presentation summarizing the bill. “Is (setting a goal) something the board needs to look at? That’s my biggest concern about this whole thing: What about our accountability?”

Assistant Superintendent Denise Griebel, who made the presentation along with Director of Assessment & Accountability Tharon Hurley, agreed with Smith.

“We second your concerns,” she said. “We do not want to lose the progress that we’ve made.”

“We do have things in place to carry that accountability forward,” Superintendent David Young added. “We meet three times a year with principals. We have curriculum coaches in place. We intend to continue with that. That accountability from the state level is a big input but we do have things in place at the district level.”

Still, Young agreed with Smith’s point.

“Without accountability, we have a tendency not to move forward,” he said. “And that’s what education is all about. There’s no doubt that with KERA education has improved.”