Lexington, KY - After graduating from the University of Michigan with a degree in nursing, Cindy Heine enjoyed a good career at the University Medical Center there, and later, in the intensive and coronary care at Kings' Daughters' Hospital in Kentucky. She worked as a stay-at-home mom for several years when her children were young, and was active with her children's schools. In 1977, she began working with pregnant teens in the obstetrics unit at the University of Kentucky Medical Center. She's proud that she helped Lexington hospitals become more family-friendly, allowing fathers in the delivery room.
Being a PTA board member and chair, as well as participating on various school task forces, must have piqued her interest and prepared her for the career transition to the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence in 1989. "I never dreamed I'd end up doing this important work in education," Heine says, "but I was passionate about accountability in education and saw ways the Committee could make a difference."
The Prichard Committee's mission is to improve education at all levels, for individual students, communities and the commonwealth. "It was a privilege to work with our founding executive director, Bob Sexton, who died last summer. He was a visionary and incredible advocate for raising education standards in the commonwealth."
Before the passage of the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) in 1990, Heine says that teachers and school officials followed the methods they'd been taught for years. "Basically, it was to throw information at students and hope for the best." After KERA, there were different goals, professional development for teachers and administrators alike, assessment, and support. "The public wanted - and still wants - responsibility for student learning. We had to rethink what would work. Before KERA, for example, a teacher might show a photo of a battery and explain to students how it worked. After KERA, the teacher gave students the wires, a light bulb and battery and challenged them to make it work. We had to learn and develop new strategies to improve our educational goals."
Heine is inspired by the teachers and school leaders who recognize that what they might have been taught years ago doesn't work anymore. "These professionals show that they are open to learning new methods and technologies to improve classroom learning," she said. "That motivates me every day."
She proudly outlines some of the areas where Kentucky has improved its rankings in national education surveys. "We're now ranked with states like New York, Indiana and Illinois, not those on the bottom rung. Nationally, Kentucky ranks ninth in fourth-grade reading and 16th in eighth-grade reading. We're in the top 10 in fourth-grade science."
Change is slow, but Heine is not discouraged. "It took such a long time to bring about education reform, but I truly believe that if you focus and work hard, you can accomplish these higher standards. Good people are doing it all over the Commonwealth."
Asked about the incoming director, Stu Silberman, Heine is excited. "It's a really good fit for us, for him and for education throughout Kentucky," she said. "I'm thrilled."