The Next Louisville: Public Education

Graduation day is coming soon for thousands of Louisville area public school students.

We’re taking a look at unique ways graduates have earned their diplomas. 

I sat down with Charlette Edmondson Alexander, who went back into the public school system recently and got her diploma at age 71. 

"I am so proud of myself I cried when the guy told me I had passed. I'm just excited," she says.

Graduation day is almost here for thousands of area students and we're taking a look at unique ways students are earning their diplomas.

Seventeen-year-old Darianne Hudson withdrew from Louisville’s Ballard High School a year ago and she enrolled in Jefferson County High School’s online program.

WFPL gave Hudson a recorder, which she’s carried around for the past several weeks.

Jefferson County Public Schools officials enter negotiations with the teachers union Monday to reconsider contract language that hasn’t been changed since 2005. With the backdrop being  criticism from state education officials and school reform advocates, many eyes will be watching closely.

Here's a primer on what issues will be negotiated and how the process works.

The Situation

This week, a group of Jefferson County Public Schools students presented to the school board what they would include in the "next JCPS magnet" school.

Slides from the presentation are at the bottom of this story. Among the ideas were smaller class sizes, diverse class makeup that not entirely based on student performance, however they also say students should earn their spot within the school. Ideas also included more "hands on" and "real world" experience.

Jefferson County Public Schools may eventually owe more than $1 billion in pension obligations over the long run, but the details—including the exact amount—are still unclear, officials say.

During the JCPS school board meeting this week, Chief Financial Officer Cordelia Hardin said the district is aware of the potential financial burden that has been caused by the state’s poor management of its pension system.

Nearly one-fifth of Jefferson County Public Schools seniors who say they intend on going to college and have filled out a student aid application won't be attending college in the fall, according to data collected by the district.

The city will now throw its first pep rally to celebrate college goers and to encourage students who may experience summer melt--which is being used to describe students who get lost in the shuffle during summer. 

A group has launched a campaign against the Jefferson County Teachers Association ahead of contract negotiations that are expected to begin June 3.

Kids First Louisville organizers say the teachers union contract proposal impedes changes that could improve student outcomes. They echo Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday, who told JCPS it needs to address the apparent issues the union contract creates, or be in further jeopardy of state sanctions. 

Jefferson County Public Schools may soon begin streaming its board meetings online, an initiative under  contemplation for the past two years.

The idea of streaming board meetings has been brought up on occasion by parents and residents unable or unwilling to attend the Monday meetings that are held regularly every couple weeks (in some cases more or less).

Louisville’s Central High School principal Daniel Withers did something Thursday morning that hasn’t been done at the school for over a decade.

He went for a swim.

When the pool closed in 2000 it was serving well over 1,000 people a month, according to Metro Parks, which last managed the pool. The pool is only the second JCPS pool—the other one is located at Shawnee High School—serving the estimated thousands of middle and high school swimmers in the district.

While Jefferson County Public Schools has improved its suspension record this year, the district of more than 100,000 students still struggles with the fact that a disproportionate number of minority students are suspended.