Alex Abad 
Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) regional coordinators have been named for every of Kentucky’s instructional cooperatives to offer DEI steering and guidance to their membership districts.
The Kentucky Office of Education secured the funding for the DEI positions by way of the Elementary and Secondary Crisis Relief (ESSER) Fund. The positions are becoming funded via ESSER II for the initially two many years and by American Rescue Strategy Act ESSER the 3rd calendar year.
The DEI coordinators offer you aid by a multi-tiered technique of supports and utilize tools like the fairness dashboard, the early warning process, the faculty report card, and Panorama Impression Kentucky Information to offer you schools facts-pushed strategies by heading by the trouble-resolving investigation protocol and hunting for root-triggers. They also are outfitted to present shows to college employees on KDE’s Fairness Toolkit, A4 modules, trauma-knowledgeable tactics and far more.
The DEI coordinators picked for just about every co-op incorporate:
- Jamie Nebbitt, Central Kentucky Instructional Cooperative (CKEC)
- Steven Moats and Skip Cleavinger, Green River Regional Instructional Cooperative (GRREC)
- Andy Dotson, Kentucky Academic Growth Company (KEDC)
- Bernadette Carpenter, Kentucky Valley Academic Cooperative (KVEC)
- Jessica Go, Northern Kentucky Cooperative for Educational Expert services (NKCES)
- Alexandra Hughes, for Ohio Valley Instructional Cooperative (OVEC)
- Meau Jones for Southeast/South-Central Schooling Cooperative (SESC) and
- Sarah Akin and Roger Cleveland, West Kentucky Educational Cooperative (WKEC).
“We have to have these folks who have a further awareness of the road blocks in their very own locations to present assistance and sources for schools,” said Kentucky Section of Education DEI Director Damien Sweeney.
The DEI coordinators have been on the occupation considering that late 2021.
Jaime Nebbitt, CKEC
As a trained facilitator and DEI chief, Jaime Nebbitt has an intensive background to travel her operate as the DEI coordinator for the Central Kentucky Instructional Cooperative.
She has delivered strategic management to greater training establishments and assisted leaders in acquiring culturally responsive packages and products and services made to eliminate structural, institutional and systemic obstacles. She has led cultural competency trainings, growth of yearly DEI strategies and organization and implementation of campus-large recognition applications and activities though making organizational-huge cultural transform.
“True systematic adjust is transformational and not reactionary. When mindsets are adjusted, then real transformation can come about. I glance forward to doing work with our districts, colleges and directors to produce learning environments where by just about every college student is seen and feels a perception of belonging. I am thrilled about the possibilities to infuse diversity and inclusion across each individual dialogue, policy and procedure,” Nebbitt reported.
She is an educational advisor/good results mentor for the Kentucky Group and Specialized School Method (KCTCS). She has served as a application advisor for KDE and as the diversity assistant for KCTCS. At the Bluegrass Local community and Technical Faculty, she produced a Diversity 101 training course led and introduced cultural competency and diversity periods at new personnel orientations, and audited prospects for higher education variety plans. She was the chair of the President’s Fee on Variety at the University of Kentucky (Uk) from 2002 to 2007.
She has a master’s in grownup education from Western Kentucky College (WKU) and will complete her doctorate in instruction at Northern Kentucky University (NKU) in 2023.
Steven Moats, GRREC
Just before getting the DEI coordinator at the Inexperienced River Regional Educational Cooperative, Steven Moats, Ed.D, was assistant superintendent and chief academic officer at Russellville Impartial Colleges principal at the Virtual Understanding Academy at Russellville and at the Russellville Preschool Academy Race-to-the-Prime district program director at the GRREC and held various roles at Edvantia, Inc. He taught in Warren County Community Educational facilities and at Trevecca Nazarene University
He earned a bachelor’s and master’s diploma in elementary education from WKU and a master’s of education in leadership and school administration and a doctorate in leadership from Trevecca Nazarene College. He acquired skilled certificates for instructional management for supervisor of instruction, principal (all grades) and college superintendent.
Moats has been associated in numerous corporations, which includes the Kentucky Affiliation of College Administrators and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Enhancement. He has served as a member of the internet site-centered decision generating council for Richardsville Elementary Faculty (Warren County) and vice president of the Warren County Education and learning Affiliation.
Moats was a KDE Kentucky Distinguished Educator in 1997-1999. He also served as principal expert from Edvantia, Inc. to the Business of Accountability, Training and Mastering at the Tennessee Office of Schooling, where he led the progress of the state’s aid initiatives to additional than 300 state-identified, minimal-doing universities and districts, which includes directing the Tennessee Exemplary Educators Plan. In 2007, the Tennessee Exemplary Educators Plan was awarded a Top 50 Innovations in American Federal government Award from Harvard University – a single of only two K-12 plans to do so.
Moats has provided education and learning shows close to the county and been released quite a few times.
Skip Cleavinger, GRREC
Alongside with serving as DEI co-coordinator, Skip Cleavinger also is the English learner (EL) method specialist at the Eco-friendly River Regional Academic Cooperative.
He served as chair of the Warren County Colleges Fairness Council for numerous yrs, and he was principal author of their “Equity Scorecard.” He is the founder and co-chair of the Local community Partnership for Refugee and Immigrant Families, a coalition of corporations and businesses that serve the intercontinental local community of Bowling Green/Warren County.
“I am so grateful for the opportunity to participate in the DEI do the job staying led by KDE and carried out as a result of the regional academic cooperatives,” Cleavinger said. “I feel that deep studying occurs when learners really feel provided, valued, respected and supported. Also, students ought to know that people who teach them keep high anticipations for them. To my intellect, every single of these things lies at the core of DEI, which underscores the worth of this get the job done and its probable affect on college student learning.”
He acquired his bachelor’s diploma in psychology and a master’s degree in college psychology from WKU. In 1990, he started working as a faculty psychologist in Warren County Community Educational facilities in Bowling Eco-friendly. In this role, he labored with numerous culturally and linguistically various college students who have been not proficient in English. He formulated an experience in assessing ELs to figure out if their educational and/or behavioral problems were being due to a incapacity or to language/cultural distinctions.
With a enthusiasm for performing with ELs, Cleavinger centered on curriculum and instruction for ELs and became the director of EL packages in Warren County right up until his retirement in 2019.
As director, he was instrumental in producing GEO Worldwide Substantial University, the to start with four-yr worldwide substantial school in Kentucky. He collaborated with directors of two other school districts to form the Kentucky Coalition for English Learners, an business devoted to expert discovering opportunities for lecturers and directors and advocacy, and now serves as its president.
Andy Dotson, KEDC
As the DEI coordinator for the Kentucky Academic Advancement Company, Dotson’s expectation is to be a source for universities and districts, delivering aid for college students and workers in securing a numerous, equitable and inclusionary environment for all.
“Since getting component of the DEI crew, my viewpoint on intended outcomes as opposed to precise results has been eye-opening,” he reported.
Dotson has been a guide with KEDC due to the fact 2019. He has 34 a long time of knowledge in general public instruction. He was the superintendent of Harrison County Educational institutions from 2008 to 2019, KDE secondary application marketing consultant from 2006 to 2008. In between 1995 and 2006, he was a teacher, assistant principal and principal at Phelps Substantial College (Pike County).
He has a bachelor’s diploma from Alice Lloyd University and a master’s and Rank I from Morehead State College (MSU).
Dotson has participated in the Kentucky Leadership Academy, is a member of the Countrywide Aeronautics and House Administration Steering Committee for Public Instruction and has been a presenter for the Kentucky School Boards Association.
Bernadette Carpenter, KVEC
Bernadette Carpenter began her career in instruction in 1984 as a bus driver and instructional assistant in the Head Start Plan. But she aspired to go farther.
Although doing work as a bus driver and tutorial assistant, Carpenter also continued her academic pursuits and earned levels in elementary educating K-8, principal certification K-8 and instructional leadership and college superintendent certifications.
She currently serves as the regional DEI coordinator for the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative. Carpenter also heads the Discovering Innovation Initiative delivering grant chances for lecturers in the KVEC location. Instructors have showcased extra than 1,000 Understanding Innovation grants during the 14 Forging Innovation in Rural Education summits.
Ahead of becoming a member of the KVEC team in 2014, she served as instructor, Household Useful resource and Youth Expert services Centers coordinator, principal, and tutorial supervisor for curriculum and instruction in the Magoffin County University District.
She stated her goals are to go on to be centered on “accelerating university student learning.”
“This career has supplied me the possibility to use all my preceding ordeals to function with a like-minded team to assure college students have the wanted supports to be the best they can be both of those academically and socially,” reported Carpenter.
Jessica Go, NKCES
Before turning out to be the DEI coordinator for the Northern Kentucky Cooperative for Instructional Expert services, Jessica Move already was serving as its Coronavirus Reaction and Reduction Supplemental Appropriations Act coordinator.
She also has served as principal at Erpenbeck Elementary (Boone County).
“I was enthusiastic to be on the DEI Committee as a principal in my past district of Boone County, and I am now honored and humbled to continue the work as a representative of our university districts in Northern Kentucky,” claimed Move.
“I am hopeful that, by working together, our college communities will continue on to increase into areas the place every single student and employees member’s strengths, talents, tradition, race and identity are valued and celebrated,” she extra. “It is then that we will see each boy or girl and just about every educator in our schools start off to notice the assure that lies in just them and use those items to make this entire world a superior put.”
Move also has been the vice principal at Ryle Higher College (Boone County) educational mentor and creating coordinator at Boone County Significant Faculty (BCHS) assistant librarian, English teacher, intervention specialist and State-of-the-art Placement coordinator at BCHS and English trainer at Lloyd Memorial Higher Faculty (LMHS) (Kenton County). She was a head varsity volleyball coach at BCHS and Leadership and Pep Club sponsor at LMHS.
Move has a bachelor’s in journalism from United kingdom, master’s in instructing from NKU, master’s in library science from United kingdom, and an training professional degree in tutorial leadership, principal (K-12), from the University of the Cumberlands. She has certifications in college principal (K-12), faculty librarian (K-12) and Kentucky training (English 8-12).
She serves on the KDE Top quality Curriculum Job Power, was named to the NKU Master of Arts Educating Application Advisory Committee in 2017, gained coach qualifications for KDE trainings on the Kentucky Educational of Expectations, Kentucky’s Multi-Tiered Process of Supports (KyMTSS), Curriculum Growth and Large-Top quality Instructional Methods in 2021, and serves on the statewide KyMTSS Local community of Practice Team.
In 2014, Pass was named the Large School Teacher of the Year by the Kentucky Council of Instructors of English and in 2012 was a finalist for the Following Generation Chief Award from Legacy, an extension of the chamber of commerce.
Alexandra E. Hughes, OVEC
Prior to signing up for Ohio Valley Academic Cooperative as the regional DEI coordinator, Alexandra E. Hughes, Ed.D., created a vocation in better education serving a number of college communities, which include the College of Texas Rio Grande Valley and College of South Alabama. In her capacity as a college administrator, she built teams in the areas of college student self-control, housing and residence daily life, pupil accessibility expert services, and variety and inclusion. As a professor, she taught graduate and doctoral learners about cultural competencies and exemplary exploration tactics.
Her career also involves working as an instruction expert for the Association for Pupil Conduct Administrators, the place she produced specialized curriculum centered on scholar self-control. She said she is passionate about connecting specialists with means to make certain their accomplishment.
Hughes is hunting forward to getting to be an integral element of not only the OVEC crew, but also doing work collaboratively with her counterparts in the other Kentucky academic cooperatives as they properly converse and champion several DEI aspects this sort of as race, gender, LBQTQ+, disability, social economics and overall performance/ability.
She is centered on furnishing individualized assist to each OVEC district/faculty dependent on their requirements and requests.
“I might not be equipped to transform the environment, but if I can positively influence and improve a single person’s planet, then I have completed adequate,” claimed Hughes.
Meau Jones, SESC
Meau Jones by now was acquainted with doing the job in the DEI discipline right before turning out to be the DEI coordinator for the Southeast/South-Central Education and learning Cooperative. Most just lately, he was the director of Cultural Range and Specific Courses at Southeast Kentucky Local community and Technical College or university. In that situation, he was responsible for the college’s range approach, scheduling and employing packages to boost variety in the workplace and the college aiding in the recruitment of a numerous college student populace and a diverse workforce and offering cultural diversity education for personnel.
As the University of Rio Grande’s multicultural affairs coordinator from 2011 to 2015, Jones designed collaborative partnerships to advance the campus tradition of inclusion and planned and applied initiatives such as Martin Luther King Day, Black Heritage Thirty day period, Women’s History Month and International Week.
Hunting toward the obstacle ahead, Jones said his intention is “to get to know the region I’m in.”
“My youngsters will be going to faculties in this region I want to stay this (Martin Luther King Jr.) estimate: ‘An particular person has not begun dwelling until finally he can rise previously mentioned the slim confines of his individualistic considerations to the broader fears of all humanity.’ This function is a fantastic way to attain that in this new chapter of my life,” he said. “I’m thankful for the option to share some of my perspectives about pupil development. I’m similarly thrilled to study from the lived activities of the persons in the faculty units.”
Jones also was a member of the Eagle Variety and Inclusion Workforce and Eagle Black Male Mentorship at MSU from 2018 to 2021.
His other perform knowledge contains remaining hall director at MSU and summertime resident director at Miami College (MU). He had a pupil-athlete educational assistance internship at MU was the AmeriCorps faculty completion coach and an admissions counselor at the University of Rio Grande perform hearing officer and resident director at MU and resident director at Kentucky Condition University.
He has a bachelor’s diploma in psychology and a master’s degree in schooling in coaching and management from the College of Rio Grande.
Sarah Akin, WKEC
Sarah Akin has a background in faculty counseling and local community mental health to attract from in her job as a the DEI coordinator for the West Kentucky Academic Cooperative.
“The operate of diversity, fairness and inclusion is so vital,” Akin reported. “We will have to build that place where by all folks are welcomed, supported and differing perspectives and contributions are sought out and valued. We must guarantee that each and every Kentucky college student feels empowered and outfitted to obtain achievements.”
Along with serving as a DEI coordinator, Akin is also the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations social and emotional understanding expert. Prior to performing at WKEC, she was an elementary and significant university counselor for 11 years in Christian County. She also worked in a faculty setting for 5 yrs in community mental well being, helping older people and little ones suffering from mental health crises.
At present, she is president of the Kentucky School Counselor Affiliation.
Akin acquired her undergraduate diploma from EKU and her graduate and instruction specialist degrees from Murray State University.
Roger Cleveland, WKEC
A chief and groundbreaking researcher in DEI and educational innovation, Roger Cleveland, Ed.D., will work with Akin as a DEI exterior consultant for the West Kentucky Instructional Cooperative.
Cleveland’s career has been focused to empowering enterprises, community establishments and educational institutions to embrace variety and inclusion. As a effects-driven educator and groundbreaking imagined chief, he is a lecturer, instructor and educational specialist.
He has more than 20 years in K-12 and higher education and has taught at MSU, British isles (element-time), Middle Tennessee Point out College and Jap Kentucky University (EKU).
Cleveland has released a number of education-linked peer reviewed exploration content articles and has hosted hundreds of diversity and inclusion workshops and lectures nationwide. He also is a founding member and assistant director of the nationally identified Black Males Working Academy, a software centered on school and job readiness as a result of academics, social-emotional mastering and student accomplishment.
In 2014, he was inducted into the Kentucky Civil Legal rights Hall of Fame. Cleveland has been named Professor of the Year by the Kentucky Association of Blacks in Bigger Instruction and gained the P.G. Peeples Fairness and Excellence Achievement Award. As a professor at EKU, he was named one of the “Teachers Generating a Big difference.”
Cleveland earned a bachelor’s diploma in communications from MSU, a master’s in the sociology of training from Union College, and a doctorate in instructional foundations from the College of Cincinnati.
He now serves as a full-time professor in the Higher education of Schooling at EKU.
