The Kentucky Board of Education unanimously agreed to award Commissioner Terry Holliday a four-year extension of his contract Wednesday.Holliday was hired by the baord in July 2009 as the state's fifth commissioner . The contract extension will cover the period from August 2013 to August 2017. The contract does not provide Holliday with a salary raise, which will keep his $225,000 yearly salary the same, according to a press release sent from KDE.“This board’s relationship with Terry is extremely interactive on significant, high-level policy issues, such as the implementation of 2009’s Senate Bill 1, the state’s new assessment and accountability model, teacher and administrator professional growth, and the focus on college and career readiness for all Kentucky students,” said Board Chair David Karem in a press release.Kentucky was been unable to receive the first two rounds of Race to the Top funding, one round specifically for early childhood programs. Part of the state's struggle receiving this funding has been due to the lack of charter schools.KDE did receive $17 million from Race to the Top funding in December last year. That round was given to states that had lost in previous rounds.KDE notes in the release activities during Holliday's last few years:
- adoption of the Common Core State Standards in English/language arts and mathematics in March 2010
- granting of flexibility under the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act in February 2012
- working closely with legislators to pass bills such as 2010’s House Bill 176 (KRS 160.346), which providesmuch-needed interventions in the state’s lowest-performing schools
- implementation of a system ofLeadershipNetworks designed to support the high-quality implementation of the requirements set forth in 2009’s Senate Bill 1
- release of data showing Kentucky outscoring the nation on the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) science assessments
- improvement in overall scores on the EXPLORE (8th grade) and PLAN (10th grade) assessments taken in the fall of 2011
- improvement in the number of Kentucky public high school students taking Advanced Placement (AP) examinations and scoring at high levels
- development by the Commissioner's Raising Achievement/Closing Gaps Council (CRACGC) of Guidelines for Closing the Gaps for All Students, a document that is designed to help parents and community members become engaged in their schools and districts and to focus on statutory and regulatory expectations related to achievement gaps
- receipt of grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support implementation of the new Common Core Standards (CCS) and to integrate effective teaching, CCS and instructional delivery
- the first administration of the TELL (Teaching, Empowering, Leading and Learning) Kentucky Survey in March 2011
- the launch of a new 21st-century instructional tool called the Continuous Instructional Improvement Technology System (CIITS)
- the field-testing of the proposed Teacher and Principal Professional Growth and Effectiveness System
- the signing of the “Commonwealth Commitment to College and Career Readiness” pledge by all school districts
- receipt of a federal Race to the Top grant of $17 million to advance targeted K-12 reforms aimed at improving student achievement, specifically to implement professional development and resources and expand Advanced Placement offerings
- introduction of the Adaptive System of School Improvement Support Tools, or ASSIST™, to be used for the required Comprehensive School and District Improvement Planning (CSIP/CDIP) process
- the launch of the agency’s Facebook page and Twitter feed in May 2011
- selection of the first group of students to serve on the inaugural statewide Next-Generation Student Advisory Council