Stacey Davidson, the instructional supervisor in the Owsley County School District, feels that she was called into the service of teaching at an early age even though she wanted a different career path. She has recently started a blog writing about educational issues important to her.
Stacey says, “I knew from the time I was a little girl that I would end up in a field of service, and I have always felt at home in the world of academia. Admittedly, I didn’t answer the call to education at first, as my original major at Centre was Biochemistry and Molecular Biology with my sights set on medical school. Though I loved my science and math classes, I felt much more at home with my Literature professors. As a college sophomore, my college Spanish professor required me to participate in a service project; my project partner and I ended up teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) classes for Japanese students at the local adult education center. After that, I just followed my heart on into the classrooms of Eastern Kentucky.”
Stacey penned a blog in the Education Post on the complex and often misunderstood issue of “accountability.” Her goal was to personalize the issue in her blog post, “Accountability Doesn’t Lie with a Number, It Lies with Our Students.”
“Standing on the brink of major change in Kentucky’s accountability system, we are called upon to reflect on where we’ve been and where we have to go for the sake of all of those tiny faces looking up at us when we enter into our school.” Stacey writes.
She adds, “No longer can we be satisfied with overall scores and not focus on what is happening for individual students. The truth is, we should never have been. Because our accountability doesn’t lie with a number; it lies with our students.
“We are accountable for developing in our students the skills they need to succeed in any circumstance, for enabling them to see beyond what is right in front of their faces.
“We are accountable for ensuring that every child who walks into our doors has the opportunity to follow their hearts, whether they lead them down the path of the arts, technical careers, college, or any of hundreds of other paths.”
Stacey personalizes the issues pointing out, “As both a mom to two daughters and as a curriculum, instruction and assessment coordinator in my local school district, the weight of this accountability and responsibility can feel overwhelming at times.
Looking into the 683 faces staring out the bus windows of my tiny, rural district each afternoon, I am reminded of why it is so important that we get the new system in Kentucky right.”
Stacey graduated from Breathitt High School as Valedictorian in 1997, from Centre College with a BA in English in 2001, and from EKU’s MAT program in 2003. Stacey currently lives in Breathitt County with her husband, Charlie, (who serves as principal at Owsley County High School), two daughters, Autumn (age 13) and Holly (age 9), and their St. Bernard, Carter.
I was hired to teach high school ELA beginning in the 2003-2004 school year and moved to the central office half time beginning in 2012. In 2014, I moved to the central office first time but have continued to teach ENG 101, 102, and 161 dual credit courses at the high school as needed. She also taught high school English for 13 years.
Stacey’s blog can be read at
Accountability Doesn’t Lie With a Number, It Lies With Our Students
