State of the Schools: Superintendent Highlights District Successes
Schools Superintendent Manny Caulk outlined the district’s many success stories for the 2017-18 school year on Wednesday, Aug. 1 to a crowd of approximately 500 at Heritage Hall that included local politicians, community partners, parents and educators at the Fayette County Public Schools State of the Schools program.
Caulk was the keynote speaker at the event, which was sponsored by the Lexington-Bluegrass Association of Realtors and featured live music and singing performances by FCPS students plus the presentation of the annual Golden Apple Awards to community partners.
On the third anniversary to the day of his start as Superintendent, Caulk ticked off one example of district success after another from student and teacher award winners to significant strides in arts and foreign language instruction to recognizing that the 2018 graduating classes at the district’s six high schools were the largest in history.
That class earned admission to 309 universities and college – including all eight Ivy League schools – and earned more than $100 million in scholarships. The district also boasted 16 students with perfect ACT scores – six times the national average.
He also praised efforts to close the achievement gap, citing the success of Academies of Lexington launched at three high schools – Bryan Station, Tates Creek and Frederick Douglass, the district’s newest high school.
Among numerous rounds of applause from the audience, one of the biggest came when Caulk proudly referenced the district’s 26th state marching band title in the past 29 years.
Aided by giant display screens, Caulk also reported on the demographics of the district’s 41,676 students – 90 world languages are spoken at home, 54% receive free or reduced lunch, 11.8% are identified as special education learners, 19.2% are gifted and talented and 2% experience homelessness.
Caulk referenced the district’s Portrait of a Graduate: academically prepared, college and career ready, civically engaged, culturally competent and equipped for the future.
He called the mission of developing future-ready, equipped-to-excel students a moral obligation of the school district, identifying himself as a servant leader in that effort.
Against a backdrop of shooting tragedies in the nation, Caulk warned about the importance of following initiatives suggested by the District Safety Advisory Council.
Said Caulk: “Our students deserve both a world class education and safe schools.”
For more information about FCPS, please see the attached Annual Report.
FCPS Presents Golden Apple Awards to Community Partners
Fayette County Public Schools has presented Golden Apple Awards to a half-dozen high-performing community partners for their efforts working with the district and specific schools in 2017-18.
Thanking the honorees on Wednesday, Aug. 1 before the 2018 State of the Schools address at the Lexington Convention Center were Kelli Parmley of the Community Partners Leadership Team, FCPS Superintendent Manny Caulk and school board Chairwoman Melissa Bacon.
These latest Golden Apple recipients invested time, energy and expertise through committed programs that benefited the whole county. They represent several award categories including community organization, post-secondary institution, faith-based partner, business and individual volunteer.
The Golden Apple Award winners are:
- FoodChain – for making food a vehicle for learning;
- Urban League of Lexington-Fayette County – for championing equity;
- University of Kentucky’s College of Education – for building the next generation of teachers;
- Unitarian Universalist Church – for making meaningful connections at Cardinal Valley Elementary;
- Valvoline – for bringing partnership to life at Breckinridge Elementary; and
- Marcus Patrick of the Lexington Leadership Foundation’s Urban Impact program – for extending learning into the community.
The Community Partners Leadership Team, which serves as a link between Fayette County schools and the local community, includes representatives from more than two dozen organizations.
These groups provide substantial time, funds and other resources for students, teachers and schools through hundreds of partnerships, mentorships, programs and initiatives.