FORT MITCHELL — Steve Hutton is packing his book bag and preparing for a new assignment.

        After 16 years as principal of Beechwood Elementary School, the Erlanger native is training to become a “highly skilled educator” for the Kentucky Department of Education.

STEVE HUTTON'S CAREER IN EDUCATION

Age: 49     Salary: $77,817.41 (at Beechwood). Highly skilled educators will earn 135 percent of their salary up to $90,000.     Career: Spent the last 16 years as principal at Beechwood Elementary School; teacher in Dayton Independent Schools, Title I reading specialist and teacher in Bellevue Independent Schools; and teacher in Fort Thomas Independent Schools.     Academic background: Graduate of Lloyd Memorial High School in Erlanger in 1971. Graduated from Georgetown College in 1975, with a degree in elementary education. Earned a master's degree in reading education from Xavier University in 1980; received a Rank I certification - 30 hours above the master's degree - in 1985; and completed a doctorate in educational administration from the University of Kentucky in 1995.

        Mr. Hutton is among 17 newly selected teachers and administrators from across the state, and the only one from Northern Kentucky to be chosen for the designation. Highly skilled educators, or HSEs, are charged with helping poorer-performing schools boost student achievement. Each of the new designees soon will be assigned to a school deemed low-performing by scores on the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System from 2001 and 2002.

        For Mr. Hutton, leaving one of the state's top-performing school districts for a low-performing school is the next challenge in his 27-year career as an educator.

        “I would just like to see if what we're doing here at Beechwood can be implemented in another school and (we can) begin to get similar results,” said Mr. Hutton, 49.

        “We try to focus and concentrate our efforts on taking advantage of what the brain does naturally and then finding ways that are brain-friendly to help kids learn.”

        The state provides assistance to low-performing schools, ranging from scholastic audits or reviews, highly skilled educators and/or funds to help them progress.

        Highly skilled educators act as consultants, helping schools in many ways, including implementing an improvement plan, identifying needs and resources, and engaging parents and the community.

        State Education Department officials said there's proof that highly skilled educators are effective.

        “You can look at these schools that have had highly skilled educators, and as a rule their test scores go up within a year. Within two years, they generally can pull themselves out of the assistance category,” said department spokeswoman Lisa Gross.

        Karen Lyon, principal at Thomas Edison Elementary in Covington, said highly skilled administrator Debbie McIntosh has lent a much needed outsider's perspective to her school this year.

        “She works very well with our teachers in a very non-threatening demeanor. When you think you have this stranger coming into your building, a principal can look at it as someone coming in to take over and teachers could be thinking someone's coming in to tell me how to do my job,” Ms. Lyon said. “That's the last thing she has offered. She has come in with just support and ideas and praise.”

        Mr. Sutton, who likely will be assigned to a school close to home, knows among his biggest challenges will be building trust at the school.

        “Then you have to build credibility. Without trust and credibility, people may not take to your ideas and accept them,” he said.

        Mr. Sutton's assignment will last up to three years. He can return to Beechwood when he's done, and he plans to do so.

        Beechwood Superintendent Fred Bassett said he planned Monday night to present the elementary school's site-based council with the names of several candidates to replace Mr. Hutton. A decision could come by month's end.

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