Carroll County High School

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Superintendent's Corner

Carroll County Schools is planning opportunities for families and community members to help shape how the district measures school success as changes to Kentucky’s accountability system are anticipated.
Following a review of the latest Kentucky Summative Assessment (KSA) results, Superintendent Dr. Robin Stephenson is planning a series of idea-sharing sessions to gather input on what stakeholders consider important when evaluating school performance. The goal is to develop a broader picture of success that reflects not only test scores but also the skills, experiences and opportunities students gain throughout their education.

“We’re going to start hosting some sessions to where we are purposely inviting in families and community members to give us feedback moving forward on what they would like to see from us,” Stephenson said. “Our kids go beyond a color rating or a number. ”

Kentucky’s changing accountability system allows districts to consider local measures, and Stephenson sees an opportunity to build on work already underway in Carroll County Schools. Through the district’s Panther Path initiative, students complete capstone projects and maintain portfolios documenting their growth as empowered learners, critical thinkers, productive collaborators and effective communicators.
Stephenson said students embraced the capstone process last year, demonstrating their learning and presenting evidence of their progress. The district hopes to build on that experience as it considers ways to recognize student growth beyond standardized testing.

“Our kids were absolutely phenomenal with capstone defense last year,” she noted.

As the district considers ways to measure success, Stephenson also wants to hear what families and community members value beyond academics. She emphasized the importance of creating schools where students feel connected and have opportunities to participate in sports, band and other extracurricular activities, while ensuring families and community members feel welcome and involved.

“We want our schools to be places where kids want to be and feel connected, where our families feel welcome and our community members know they’re welcome, too,” Stephenson said.
The latest KSA results included several positive developments:
👉All three schools increased their Proficient and Distinguished reading scores.
👉Carroll County High School earned a blue rating in postsecondary readiness, scoring 14 percentage points above the state average in that area.
👉Cartmell Elementary School, after three years as a Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) school, is no longer identified as a TSI school.
👉Cartmell Elementary and Carroll County Middle School earned a blue rating in English learner proficiency.

Stephenson acknowledged that the district still has work to do but said the results reflect steady progress and the efforts of students and staff.
“We’re making slow but steady gains across the board,” she said. “We know we have work to do, and we have a great team in place. We’ll continue to look for ways to improve.”

🏎️📏 Mrs. Howard’s senior math students put learning into motion! Using Hot Wheels cars, ramps, stopwatches, and measuring tools, students conducted hands-on experiments to explore the relationship between time and distance. Learning math in action!