Contextualizing JCPS
A Brief Overview
A Brief Recent History of Education in JCPS
JCPS is the 29th largest school district in the United States, which is rather impressive considering the population of Jefferson County is approximately 770,00 (as of 2019). There are 167 schools in the district and 96,000 students; 81% of school-age children in Jefferson County/ Louisville attend JCPS (“JCPS Facts,” n.d.). District data on racial demographics from the 2019-2020 school year report 37% Black students, 41% white students, 12% Hispanic students, and 8% other, reflecting a racially diverse district (2019 current enrollment, 2019).
In 2018, after a 14-month state audit of the district, JCPS nearly experienced a state takeover. This was supported by the interim education commissioner at the time, Wayne Lewis, who was also a strong supporter of charter schools. Had this happened, the state would have taken control of the local school board, stripping it of its governing power (Novelly & McLaren, 2018). The 2018/19 academic year began in the midst of turmoil. The school board, in a late August meeting with the school year already begun, voted 4-3 in favor of accepting a settlement from the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) in order to avoid the state takeover of JCPS. The settlement required that school board representatives and KDE begin work on a final iteration of a corrective action plan within 15 days (WDRB Staff, 2018). The plan called for the school board and superintendent “to retain their authority over district operations while Lewis and KDE would have veto power on decisions related to restraint and seclusion, early childhood education, and special education” and noted that “JCPS would be audited again in 2020, and the board would have the right to appeal any recommended actions that come as a result” (Wheatley, 2018). Needless to say, the 2018/2019 academic year was destined to be one of stress and confusion as the district’s employees grappled with creating and employing new accountability systems, particularly for Title 1 schools, specifically those designated as AIS, or “Accelerated Improvement Schools.” The school district’s website describes AIS schools as schools identified to receive “differentiated support from district staff and assistant superintendents. These schools are given special emphasis, support, and attention when the district makes decisions and assigns resources in order to foster success” (“Accelerated improvement schools”, n.d.).
As the district grappled with this looming threat it also faced instability due to threats against Kentucky teacher pensions. Motivated by the recent Virginia teacher strikes and in a Right to Work state, teachers organized sick-outs and rallied in Frankfort, and their efforts succeeded in protecting their pensions. This was not, however, a painless process. In Spring 2018 teachers organized sickouts and crowded Frankfort to fight against legislation overhauling the state pension system, explaining that it harmed current pensions and would serve as a deterrent to young people considering the profession. The governor at this time was Matt Bevin, already known for his abrasive manner of speech, villainized and insulted teachers. Katie Reilly (2019) of Time writes:
In April 2018, [Bevin] accused teachers of leaving children vulnerable to sexual assault and drug use during the statewide walkout. “I guarantee you somewhere in Kentucky today, a child was sexually assaulted that was left at home because there was nobody there to watch them,” he said. “Children were harmed — some physically, some sexually, some were introduced to drugs for the first time — because they were vulnerable and left alone.”
Teachers were successful despite these horrendous attacks and the bill did not pass. However, a similar bill appeared in February 2019 and teachers returned to sickouts and protested in Frankfort. Opponents of the bill argued the bill was pointed retaliation for previous teacher protests over the pension system in 2018. Mandy Maclaren of The Courier Journal reported that this new bill sought to “restructure the board that manages teachers' pensions. Under the changes, the Kentucky Education Association would have less representation on the board. The statewide teachers union, which represents nearly 30,000 members, would be able to nominate just one board member. It's currently able to nominate four” (McLaren, 2019). Kentucky teachers succeeded again, and the legislation was not passed. Attorney General (at the time) Andy Beshear strongly supported Kentucky teachers during these protests and went on to narrowly beat Matt Bevin for the governorship in late 2019.
A short introduction to Louisville’s history of integration efforts and remaining segregation
In 1975, by court order, JCPS began school desegregation efforts through the process of bussing students out of racially segregated neighborhoods. Despite violence, threats, and lawmakers and citizenry who were against the new policy, JCPS succeeded for decades in becoming one of the most racially integrated school districts in the United States. This, however, has started to change and schools have slowly begun showing signs of resegregation (Eligon, 2019). One contributing factor is that, although school integration efforts were successful, neighborhoods in both Louisville and Jefferson County continued to remain largely segregated. A 2021 local media report noted that “while the non-white population of Jefferson County, home to Louisville Metro, rose to 37% in 2020 from 29% in 2010, a fifth of the Black residents lived in places that were more than 75% Black. Half of its white population lived in more than 75% white neighborhoods” (Bhat, 2021).
In 2020, in the wake of the killing of Breonna Taylor and the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Louisville erupted in racial protests. Advocates described the protests as “a consequence of decades of structural racism” and noted that the concurrent Covid-19 pandemic highlighted “the consequences of structural discrimination that has resulted in Black people living in close quarters, oftentimes in the vicinity of highways and chemical plants with limited access to health care and working daily wage jobs that became dangerous to do in the pandemic” (Bhat, 2021). It is against this backdrop of educational uncertainty and civil unrest that the JCPS school board navigates its work to govern the school district.
References
Bhat, S. (2021, September 23). Louisville is more diverse than ever but remains largely segregated. WFPL. https://wfpl.org/louisville-is-more-diverse-than-ever-but-remains-largely-segregated/
Eligon, J. (2019, July 28). Busing worked in Louisville. So why are its schools becoming more segregated?. The New York Times.
Jefferson County Public Schools. (n.d). Accelerated improvement schools. Retrieved March 5, 2022, from https://www.jefferson.kyschools.us/department/priority-schools
Jefferson County Public Schools. (n.d.) JCPS Facts. Retrieved March 5, 2022, from https://www.jefferson.kyschools.us/about/newsroom/jcps-facts
Jefferson County Public Schools. (2019, October 3). 2019-2020 current enrollment by race and gender. https://www.jefferson.kyschools.us/sites/default/files/jcpsdbk204.pdf
McLaren, M. (2019, February 28). Hundreds of Kentucky teachers call in sick to descend on Capitol for pension bill strike. USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/28/kentucky-teacher-sickout-protest/3016030002/
Novelly, T. & McLaren, M. (2018, May 3). How did we get here? What to know about the state takeover of JCPS. Courier journal. https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2018/05/03/what-does-kentucky-jcps-state-takeover-mean/572014002/
Reilly, K. (2019, November 6). How republican governor Matt Bevin lost teachers and lost Kentucky. Time. https://time.com/5719885/matt-bevin-republican-kentucky-teacher-protests/
WDRB Staff. (2021, August 11). JCPS board chair 'disappointed' in member's expletive tweet. WDRB.
WDRB Staff. (2018, August 27). JCPS board votes to accept state's proposed settlement in takeover battle. WDRB.
Wheatley, K. (2018, August 28). Pollio confident JCPS and KDE will agree on corrective plan. WDRB.