KENTON
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 50 — NOVEMBER 10, 2023
THE VOICE OF NKY
linknky.com
Campbell County fueling future firefighters By Haley Parnell
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ampbell County Area Technology Center’s new fire science program trains students to put them two years ahead in their careers by the time they graduate with their high school diploma. Students like Joseph Butke, a junior at Pendleton County High School, are taking advantage of the program that awards Firefighter Level 1 and EMT certifications by the end of their two years of training. The program was brought to the technology center this year after a need was identified for more regional firefighters. “This is teaching me now to where as soon as I get my high school diploma, I can go work somewhere, and that’s really important because it takes away that two-year gap it would take to fully train a new employee at 18. And I’m 16,” Butke said. Campbell County Area Technology Center Principal Carolyn Stewart said a lot of research was put in before bringing fire sciContinues on page 3
Campbell County Area Technology Center fire science program students, fire science teacher Jake Snodgrass and center Principal Carolyn Stewart with the donated fire truck. Photo by Joe Simon | LINK nky contributor
Report Cards released: How did your school fare? By Douglas Clark
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entucky’s School Report Card data was released on Oct. 31, showing a range of school performance across Northern Kentucky.
“The accountability results in the School Report Card are only one measure of school performance,” said Robin Fields Kinney, Kentucky Department of Education interim state commissioner of education. “A failed test score does not provide, by itself, a complete measure of student achievement or our students’ potential.”
Kentucky's School Report Card data was released Oct. 31.. Photo provided | MChe Lee via Unsplash
The Kentucky Department of Education is required by state statute and under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act to re-
port such data, and the information just released is from the 2022-2023 academic year. The report card uses a color-coded system — from highest to lowest performance, blue, green, yellow, orange and red — based on districts’ and schools’ achievement levels, officials said. Additionally, schools labeled as “targeted support and improvement” are those that have student subgroups performing significantly lower than their peers, according to the Kentucky Department of Education. In Northern Kentucky, the following districts and schools earned blue, the highest rating: • Beechwood High School (Beechwood Continues on page 5
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