Friday, September 9, 2011

With the implementation of Senate Bill 1 in schools across the commonwealth, the Council on Postsecondary Education is keeping a close eye on progress. SB 1 changes educational standards, and teachers are working to accommodate the requirements.

The CPE board of trustees is composed of members from across the state. Three of those members are from western Kentucky. Glenn Denton, a Paducah attorney, has served on the council since 2008. He served a two-year term and was then re-appointed by Gov. Steve Beshear for a six-year term.

Denton said he wanted to serve on a board that would have statewide impact. He learned about the inner workings of the CPE when his father, David Denton, served on the Council on Higher Education, the CPE predecessor.

An area of the state that sometimes feels under-represented compared to northern and central Kentucky, Denton said western Kentucky will have three strong advocates for the next few years. Dennis Jackson and Kirby O'Donoghue are the other two appointees from the region. Denton said he looks forward to the continuing cooperation between the CPE, Kentucky Department of Education and education professional standards board to improve results to students, teachers and parents.

"They can continue to work on the issues of making sure we have a seamless pipeline between K through 12 and postsecondary," Denton said. "And making sure that our teachers in K through 12 have newer and better professional development seminars so that everyone knows exactly what's expected of students who want to pursue a postsecondary opportunity."

O'Donoghue is a new member to the state CPE board. She is a new agriculture teacher at Lone Oak High School and former Student Government Association president at Murray State University. She serves as the student regent as she completes her master's degree at MSU.

It is O'Donoghue's responsibility to represent the student perspective in her role on the board. She said her work with the Murray State board of regents has helped prepare her for the job ahead.

"Each member of the board, I had a takeaway from their leadership style," she said. "Getting to work with them one-on-one, throughout the year, I enjoyed that. It was a highlight from my time in college."

Her varied perspectives, from the Murray campus to Lone Oak High School, gives O'Donoghue a unique role on the board. She said she's honored and enthusiastic for the opportunity, but does not take it lightly.

In her student career, O'Donoghue was involved in multiple extra-curricular activities, student government and a sorority. By now, she's used to a strict time management policy.

"I manage it with a very large planner, unlimited cell phone plan in regards to texting, 3G e-mail and a willingness to not have eight hours of sleep every night," she said.

As printed in The Paducah Sun, Friday, September 9, 2011.