Kentucky
McCreary County school counselor becomes second in Kentucky to be nationally certified
Angelina Farwick Philpot is the second school social worker in Kentucky to earn National Certified School Social Worker certification. Photo courtesy Angelina Farwick Philpot
(WHITLEY CITY, KY) – McCreary County’s Angelina Farwick Philpot has become the second in Kentucky to attain National Certified School Social Worker (NCSSW) certification.
Philpot is a mental health service provider in the McCreary County School District, assigned to Whitley City Elementary School.
The NCSSW program launched in April of 2021, and applicants are required to create a portfolio that centers around the nine competencies associated with the National School Social Work Model. Portfolios are evaluated by experts in the field of school social work.
Philpot provides individual counseling services to students and collaborates with their therapists to provide additional support. In kindergarten, she provides first steps interventions.
She received a bachelor’s degree in social work from Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) in 2017, then got her master’s from Campbellsville University in 2019. She started at McCreary County in September 2023.
Philpot grew up not knowing what she wanted to do, but said she has an uncle who is a social worker.
“He has told me since I was a little girl, ‘You are a social worker,’” Philpot said. “Then I had some life experiences that just made things click for me and I was like, ‘Oh, he’s right.’”
Philpot said she enjoys helping people and lifting them up if she notices they’re down. She loves to see kids progress from being closed off to then opening up and showing more enthusiasm.
“They say that like one trusting relationship with an adult makes such a difference in a kid’s life,” she said. “There are particular kids that I’m working with now who won’t approach you face on. And since working with those kiddos, I was walking down the hallway the other day … and the kid threw his arms out in the air and ran towards me.”
Philpot works under AugmentMC, which is a grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education to provide more mental health services to the McCreary County school district. The program partners McCreary County Schools with Campbellsville University, EKU, Lindsey Wilson College, and University of the Cumberlands, placing their mental health graduate students within the school system for their practicum hours.
The district gets $6 million over the course of five years to expand services and the number of trained providers. They are on year three.
Philpot said she is currently working with a practicum student from EKU who’s working on her master’s degree in social work.
“We have been meeting all our goals with our grant, reaching all of our benchmarks and really making a difference with the kiddos; I think in educating the teachers and staff as well,” Philpot said.
Rebecca Blakley, director of AugmentMC at McCreary County Schools, said Philpot has made a profound difference in the lives of students, families, and staff in the district.
“Her compassionate approach and expertise have helped countless students develop coping skills, build confidence and navigate difficult life circumstances,” Blakely said. “Through individual counseling, group sessions and crisis intervention, Angelina ensures that students have a safe space to express their concerns and receive the guidance they need.”
Philpot said AugmentMC wants to expand the number of nationally certified providers in the school system. Philpot wanted to be certified at the same national level as many of her peers, so she started pursuing the NCSSW certification in May 2024.
The NCSSW program is a new initiative to make a certification that’s similar to the National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT) program.
As a new program, there are currently less than 40 people in the nation who are certified. Philpot is number 34. Kentucky Teacher previously profiled the first person in Kentucky to be certified, Lesley Gilpin.
As part of the certification process, Philpot had to write a paper for each of the nine competencies associated with the National School Social Work Model. Each competency has performance indicators and under each performance indicator she had to explain and provide proof of how she met that indicator as a school social worker.
Philpot ended up with something similar to a dissertation with 111 pages of content, including six pages of references and 99 pages of supporting artifacts. She said the process helped her learn about some of her strengths and weaknesses and the areas she wants to grow.
“We know we’re providing services to students, families and teachers, but you really don’t have the time to sit down and look at what you’re actually doing and the impact that you’re making,” Philpot said. “And when I wrote this paper, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I did that. I’ve done way more with my career in my practice as a school social worker than I realized;’ and in writing that, it built a different type of confidence in my professional self.”
Blakely said that while the certification process wasn’t easy, it strengthened Philpot’s leadership skills and reinforced her passion for social work.
“One of the most significant areas of growth has been her ability to assess and address complex student needs with greater confidence and effectiveness,” Blakely said. “She has honed her skills in trauma-informed care, behavior intervention strategies and social-emotional learning, ensuring that students receive the highest level of support.”
Philpot is now a peer reviewer for the NCSSW certification process, helping applicants with their papers and providing positive feedback throughout the process.
She expects the program to grow significantly over the next few years and encourages other school social workers to get certified.
Kentucky
Fayette County school board chair, KEA sue to block Kentucky law that would oust current members
LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX NEWS) — Fayette County Board of Education Chair Tyler Murphy and the Kentucky Education Association have filed a lawsuit challenging a newly enacted Kentucky law that would overhaul the governance structure of Fayette County Public Schools and force all current board members out of office at the end of 2026.
The lawsuit names the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the Fayette County Board of Elections and Fayette County election officials as defendants.
At the center of the legal challenge is Senate Bill 4, which lawmakers passed over Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto earlier this year.
Under the law, the seven-member Fayette County Board of Education would be reduced to five district-based seats, the lawsuit reads. The terms of all current board members would end Dec. 31, 2026, and new elections would be held for the restructured board.
The lawsuit argues the law is unconstitutional and asks the court to block its implementation, including any election-related actions tied to the measure.
Court filings contend the legislation unlawfully targets a single school district and interferes with the terms of duly elected local officials. Plaintiffs also argue the law violates provisions of the Kentucky Constitution governing local elections and public officeholders.
Attorneys included exhibits detailing criticism of Murphy and Fayette County Public Schools leadership from state lawmakers, including a petition seeking Murphy’s removal and a letter from state Sen. Chris McDaniel calling for the resignations of Murphy and Superintendent Demetrus Liggins.
The lawsuit seeks a declaration that the law is invalid and requests expedited review from the court due to upcoming election deadlines.
No hearing date had been announced as of Wednesday.
The lawsuit comes as Fayette County Public Schools continues to face scrutiny over budgeting decisions, district spending and governance issues that have drawn attention from state lawmakers over the past year.
In a statement, Representative Matt Lockett criticized Murphy as he highlighted what he stated are district failures under Murphy.
“This lawsuit is nothing more than an attempt to distract from the disaster that Fayette County Public Schools is under Tyler Murphy’s leadership as board chair. Under his watch, the district has spiraled into a financial crisis so severe that it is now seeking to borrow up to $110 million simply to keep the lights on and make it through the school year. Students have been failed. Families have been failed. Teachers and staff have been failed. Taxpayers have been failed. And the Lexington community has been left paying the price for years of mismanagement and poor oversight.
Rather than taking responsibility for the district’s financial failures and focusing on what is best for students, he has chosen to file a lawsuit challenging a law that was duly passed by the General Assembly and enacted through the constitutional process. He may be emboldened by recent rulings by activist judges, but there are no legitimate grounds for overturning a duly enacted statute simply because you can’t do the right thing by this community. The General Assembly has both the authority and the responsibility to establish standards for public offices and governance structures across the Commonwealth.
At a time when Fayette County schools are facing unprecedented financial turmoil, the focus should be on accountability, transparency, and fixing the problems that have brought the district to this point. The only filing Fayette County taxpayers should be expecting from Mr. Murphy is his resignation.”
LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda has been causing fear around the world, and a Lexington doctor is preparing in the event a case is found in Kentucky.
According to the CDC, there have been 49 deaths and over 300 confirmed cases across the two countries, with more suspected cases still being investigated.
UK Healthcare is working to become a Level 2 Special Pathogen Treatment Center through the National Special Pathogen System, which would allow the facility to treat Ebola patients in-house.
Dr. Nicholas Van Sickels, an infectious disease physician at UK Healthcare, said the current outbreak is serious, but Kentucky residents are not at significant risk.
“Ebola scares people just because of the mortality, the death rate, associated with it and some of the long term consequences when you do survive. Fortunately, the strain that we’re seeing in Eastern (Democratic Republic of Congo) is thought to be not as deadly, but either way it’s a very serious disease. It carries a lot of stigma and fear,” Van Sickels said.
Here in Kentucky, however, is a very safe environment, Dr. Van Sickels said.
Currently, Dr. Van Sickels says UK Healthcare operates as an assessment hospital, meaning it can evaluate patients with symptoms who have traveled to regions with active outbreaks, coordinate testing with the state, and transfer patients to higher-level care centers if needed.
Once the Level 2 designation is complete, UK Healthcare will be the only facility in Kentucky with that capability.
“We’re the only facility in Kentucky that is able to have a level 2 designation once we finish this grant award and get approved,” Dr. Van Sickels said.
In January 2026, UK Healthcare received a grant from the National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center (NETEC), the governing body of the National Special Pathogen System.
“It’s approximately half a million dollars to transform our institution,” Van Sickels said.
The funding has been used to run simulation drills in coordination with Lexington Fire, EMS, and the state health department. The grant also enabled UK Healthcare to upgrade its protective outerwear, with all seam points covered to provide additional protection. Ebola is transmitted through bodily fluids.
During a recent site visit and simulation, evaluators identified vulnerabilities in the facility’s previous protective suits.
“When we had our site visit and had our stimulation, for example, they said that the seams that we had on our old suits, you could pull and stretch, and that they were rather porous,” Van Sickels said.
Van Sickels had been working on the preparedness project since the beginning of the year.
Citing lessons learned from the 2014 West Africa Ebola epidemic, which spread to the U.S. and resulted in 4 cases and 1 death.
“Ebola 2014 taught a lot of hospitals in the US about high consequence infections, established what is now NETEC, the educating body for our country, uh, about high consequence pathogens,” Van Sickels said.
“We’re constantly wanting to push preparedness, uh, because that is the key to success in evading further outbreaks,” Van Sickels said.
UK Healthcare expects to complete its Level 2 Special Pathogen Treatment Center designation by the end of summer.
The Kentucky Wildcats have had some fits with West Virginia over the past few days, as the baseball team was sent home by the Mountaineers on Monday night. Now, they have flipped a Wildcat commit.
Bryian Duncan Jr., a Cario, Georgia native, committed to the Wildcats in March and has now flipped to West Virginia. The 3-star running back had a recent visit to Morgantown, then announced his commitment to the Mountaineers.
Duncan, a 5-foot-9 player who can play out wide and at running back, is the No. 60-ranked ATH in the nation and the No. 89 player in Georgia, according to 247 Sports. He’ll play in the Big 12 with the Mountaineers, giving himself a good opportunity to become a true gadget guy with legit speed.
This isn’t a big disappointment for the Wildcats, as they’ll collect nearly 10 commitments as the summer rolls on and already have a pretty loaded RB room for the class of 2027. Kelsey Gerald and Mason Ball are two tailbacks who have already pledged their commitment to the program.
Head coach Will Stein and Co. have been stellar on the recruiting trail as they have the 13th-best class overall and the fourth-ranked class in the SEC, according to 247 Sports. Expect the Cats to pick up a few more commits here soon and rise in the rankings.
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