Dr. Phillip Rogers retires today from the position of Executive Director of the Kentucky Educational Professional Standards Board (EPSB), the organization that oversees professional certification of teachers and principals. He leaves an important legacy.

Perhaps the most stunning action to take place while Dr. Rogers was at the helm was the EPSB’s cancellation of certification for every Masters of Education degree granting program in the state. Every college that wanted to continue to award this degree to adopt new and more meaningful programs and then reapply for a new certification from the EPSB.

Rogers oversaw many other changes such as those for admissions standards for undergraduate teacher preparation programs, higher hour requirements for practice teaching, redesign of principal preparation programs, major changes to the Kentucky Teacher Internship Program and expanded options for alternate certification of new teachers who already had significant experience in business and industry.

With Rogers at the helm, the EPSB took the first ever punitive teacher certificate actions based on forensic evidence of test cheating. This sent a clear message to teachers that cheating on tests in Kentucky could have serious consequences and the odds of getting caught were going up. It also put teachers and other school staffers on notice that responsibilities for safeguarding test products should not be taken lightly.

To be sure, a number of EPSB activities during the Rogers era were not popular with education’s status quo crowd. However, Dr. Rogers established precedents and legacies that should serve our students well in the future. We think Kentucky is going to miss this energetic leader. Without doubt, he will be able to smile about a number of his important accomplishments.