FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT
Bill Walter
Director of Public Relations
270.651.3787
Bill.Walter@barren.kyschools.us
FOR MORE INFORMATION
CONTACT
Amanda Wright
Director
Barren Academy for Virtual and Expanded Learning (BAVEL)
Phone: 270-670-3739
Fax: 270-651-8836
Amanda.Wright@barren.kyschools.us
www.bavel.org
First Lady Features Local High School as Model for Kentucky
(Glasgow, Kentucky) September 17, 2009 – First Lady Jane Beshear held a summit,
entitled Graduate Kentucky, at the Civic Center in Frankfort on September 11-12, 2009.
The purpose of the summit was to address the alarming number of high school dropouts
in Kentucky. A local high school, Barren Academy of Virtual and Expanded Learning
(BAVEL), which is the one of only a few and the first diploma granting online high
school in Kentucky, was showcased at the event. Hundreds of business, community and
education leaders from across the commonwealth attended the two day summit.
Nationally-known keynote speaker, Mrs. Marian Wright Edelman, founder and
President of The Children’s Defense Fund kicked off the summit on Friday night. On
Saturday, a variety of break-out sessions took place focusing on successful strategies
found in Kentucky’s public schools. BAVEL presented on Saturday afternoon in a best
practices breakout session entitled Virtual Interventions.
“I was contacted back in July by Tresine Logsdon, SREB Kentucky Online
Teacher of the Year, about joint participation in a presentation on the impact of online
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learning interventions for at-risk students,” said BAVEL Director Amanda Wright. “She
said the summit was to be a key initiative of First Lady Jane Beshear and they wanted
BAVEL to be a part of it.”
“BAVEL is heralded as the leader in successful online intervention,” Logsdon
told Wright, “and I would like to see your accomplishments given the statewide
recognition they deserve.”
So Wright joined the Virtual Interventions team alongside Logsdon, Paula White,
KYVS Program Consultant, and Linda Cavalluzzo, Project Director, KYVS Algebra I
Hybrid Program.
“It was quite an honor to sit around the table with these state-level officials,” said
Wright. “I learned a lot and also was able to have some input, as well. In the end, the
Summit was a huge success.”
In preparation for the presentation, Wright worked closely with Phillip Napier,
Barren County Schools Video Production Technician, to create a short video about
BAVEL. That video ended up being used as the center piece of the summit.
“Your BAVEL video is stunning. It has a wonderfully high production value,
perfect pacing, terrific voice over touches and excellent variety of shots and angles,”
Logsdon told Wright. “This will certainly be one of the highlights of our presentation.”
“I was proud to be able to represent Barren County Schools and our community
by being a part of First Lady Beshear’s initiative,” Wright offered. “We have students
from all over the state enrolled in BAVEL, so our students can be proud of the school
which they are attending and many who have already graduated. People notice success
and want to be a part of it, so BAVEL is growing in popularity, and that’s good.”
For more information about the 2009 Graduate Kentucky: A Community
Approach dropout prevention summit, please visit www.graduate.ky.gov.
To access more information about the Barren Academy of Virtual and Expanded
Learning, visit www.BAVEL.org.
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