Next KDE Commissioner focused on accountability, building relationships

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky's next top educator is transitioning from managing a school district of 2,500 students to the state's entire education system of more than 600,000 students.

Robbie Fletcher will take over as the Kentucky Department of Education Commissioner on July 1. He has served as the superintendent of Lawrence County Schools since 2014. Before that, he served as a principal, assistant principal, and teacher at various schools since starting his career in 1996.

"Regardless of the size of the district, there is one thing that matters most and that's relationships, not a phone call, not a text, although texts are good sometimes, but a face-to-face meeting with the people that are in that area," Fletcher said during his first press conference since confirmation.

Last year, the legislature changed state law mandating the Senate confirm the commissioner of education. This is the first time that measure has been put into place.

Accountability

Fletcher said he's focused on creating an accountability system that impacts day-to-day learning.

"We get our data in the fall now school districts usually get it August 1st and you get a little more of the student data but really at that point more of the decisions you make are on curriculum, maybe assessment, how are you going to change your curriculum, but it doesn't really impact the student on a day-to-day basis," Fletcher said. "If we have an accountability system where we look at instruction and maybe some interim assessments, again this is Dr. Fletcher's idea, we still need to get input... but to me if we have some type of accountability system where we do smaller chunks, reading and mathematics, you get part of an assessment decision and then how does that change instruction tomorrow? As opposed to waiting until the fall to get more information there."

Fletcher said accountability may look different across the state, depending on a county's needs.

"What exactly does the local community look for when they graduate, but the beauty of that is how you marry those two systems. So a local accountability portion that takes in to account like the profile of a learner," Fletcher said. "But also too, how do we also take that reading and mathematics instruction going on to assess that and make sure it impacts tomorrow's instruction."

School Choice

Come November, Kentucky voters will be asked to amend the state constitution regarding school choice and what that will look in the Commonwealth.

Previous laws regarding school choice have been struck down by the Kentucky Supreme Court, which is why it will now be a question for voters.

"When I walk in the booth, I'm gonna vote against the amendment, I'm going to be very clear about that," Fletcher said. "But on the other hand too, I'm a public servant. If the people of the Commonwealth vote for this it will be my job as commissioner to help the state legislature, to help school systems, to help KDE to implement that in the best way possible."

What school choice will look like varies, but the previous law struck down by the state Supreme Court, created a form of scholarship tax credits, referred to by supporters as "education opportunity accounts." Under the measure, private donors backing the accounts would be eligible for tax credits. The state would have to set $25 million aside during the law's first year for credits.

"I do not believe public funds should go to private organizations, on the other hand I am a public servant as mentioned earlier and if it's voted on by the people of the Commonwealth and they say we want this to happen then as a public servant I will do my best to work with the state legislature and KDE to implement it in the best way possible."

Jefferson County Public Schools

Roughly one out of every Kentucky student is educated by JCPS.

The district, like several others around the district, faces major transportation issues. Due to a bus driver shortage, students have consistently show up and arrive home late. Because of this, JCPS recently decided to cut transportation for thousands of students.

"I don't think it's about money, it's about making sure bus drivers feel supported," Fletcher said. "I think (JCPS) Superintendent Pollio is working on that and he will continue to work on that with his board, but I think it comes down to people and it may not be a money issue for Louisville, it may be about how you recruit those people so let's look at what efforts are going on now and how we as KDE can help support those efforts."

State lawmakers have also approved a resolution to create the Efficient and Effective School District Governance Task Force and target school districts with enrollment greater than 75,000 students, which only qualifies JCPS. It establishes a process to review the district's performance, including funding, district boundaries, and diversity.

"They have a lot of great things going on in JCPS also, but as an organization how can we help JCPS to better make those decisions, but also how do we make sure we provide the same data to JCPS that we do to the state legislature," said Fletcher.

Previous Commissioners

Fletcher will be Kentucky's ninth commissioner since 2009.

Here is a list of previous commissioners, provided by KDE:

• Terry Holliday: Aug. 2009 – Aug. 2015

• Kevin C. Brown (interim): Aug. 2015 – Oct. 2015

• Stephen L. Pruitt: Oct. 2015 – April 2018

• Wayne D. Lewis Jr.: April 2018 – Dec 2019

• Robin Fields Kinney (interim): Dec. 2019

• Kevin C. Brown (interim): Dec. 2019 – Sept. 2020

• Jason E. Glass: Sept. 2020 – Sept. 2023

• Robin Fields Kinney (interim): Sept. 2023 – June 2024

Jason Glass left to become associate vice president of teaching and learning at Western Michigan University.

Glass said his decision to leave had to do with laws passed during the 2023 legislation.

"To draw attention to it and say, this is wrong," Glass said in Sept. 2023. "It's embarrassing, and we need to really reevaluate the decisions our legislators have made on this. I felt like this is the most significant, disruptive thing I could do."

Nelson County Schools

Kentucky's Department of Education recently rejected the Nelson County Schools' board of education decision to remove its superintendent, Wes Bradley, and place the district into a management improvement program.

"Want to take in all the information that we can, review it systematically, and then try to make that decision for the management audit," Fletcher said. "Then of course after a management audit, there would be a decision of, 'is Nelson County good? Will they need to have state assistance or state take over?' So waiting for that information to come in, I can tell the goal is this, it will be to help Nelson County mend. There are a lot of hard feelings, I've been in Owensboro recently I was amazed by how many people talked to me about the Nelson County situation and just listen to people, but at the end of the day, we want to make sure we help with Nelson County and their community mend for their children."

Personnel Shortages

School districts across Kentucky have dealt with personnel shortages, including certified teachers.

Fletcher said raising salaries could help the problem, but the narrative on being an educator needs to improve.

"A lot of situations where we lost respect for the profession, and I think it's because we're not doing a good job of telling our own story so let's advertise, let's go out and make sure that when we find something good going on in a district with a teacher let's let people know," said Fletcher. "I'll always advocate for higher salaries, but we also need to realize we're impacting the future, we're changing a child's life."

What's Next

Fletcher will officially take over as commissioner July 1. His starting salary will be $265,000.

Fletcher said he hopes to take his work outside of the state education building, and visit districts in person, whether that be for a football game or help moderate academic events.

The commissioner oversees the state's K-12 school system and its 635,000 students, as well as acts as superintendent of the Kentucky School for the Blind, the Kentucky School for the Deaf and 53 area technology centers.

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