LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Jefferson County Public Schools superintendent discussed all things back-to-school Monday morning.
JCPS students will be met with a plethora of changes, from new school start times to a new reading and math curriculum.
“This may be the most change JCPS has had in a school year since 1975,” Dr. Marty Pollio said. “Each decision we’ve made has been based on improving outcomes and the school experience for our students.”
One of the biggest changes is the district's new plan for school start times, which is in part an effort to curb the bus driver shortage.
The number of start and dismissal times has increased from two to nine. Start times range from 7:40 to 9:40 a.m. for K-12 and early learning students in elementary school buildings and 10:40 a.m. at standalone early learning centers.
"We know that's a challenge for many, but it's important and critical that we do that," Pollio said.
Pollio also noted it's unlikely there will be any further adjustments to the start times this year.
"What we will be looking for are some individual changes that may need to be made around bus stops, certain busses, we may have to add busses to a school," he said.
Last year, Pollio said nearly 20,000 kids missed instructional time and "million of minutes" of education. A number of students also arrived late to school or stayed after because bus drivers had to do double or triple runs.
"It's not sustainable. [It's] not fair to students," he said. "We have to maximize our instructional time and make sure kids are in class every single minute possible."
JCPS consolidated bus routes down to 600. For the first time in several years, Pollio said the school district has more bus drivers than routes at the beginning of school.
JCPS is also launching its new student assignment plan this year, with the creation of the Choice Zone. For the first time in decades, students in the west end will have the choice to stay close to home.
"Our enrollment numbers, especially at elementary and middle, support that's what families wanted to do," Pollio said.
Pollio also noted the district is paying principals and teachers more to come teach in Choice Zone schools.
Perry Elementary School, next to the YMCA on West Broadway, and Echo Trail Middle School, near the Parklands in Eastern Jefferson County, are two brand new buildings opening this year. ln addition, Hudson Middle is opening in the former Wheatley Elementary School building in west Louisville.
Perry is set to be west Louisville's first new school in years.
"We've got about 25 more that we'll be opening up over the next 10 years," Pollio said. "It's what our kids deserve. We should have been doing this years ago."
Pollio then discussed how JCPS has adopted a district-wide curricula for reading and math in grades K-8.
According to a press release, the Expeditionary Learning (EL) reading and literacy curriculum includes a focus on "foundational reading skills in early grades and builds content knowledge" and the Illustrative Mathematics (IM) curriculum focuses on "learning the 'why' behind the math so students are better able to apply it."
Every school in JCPS will now have the same reading and math curriculum, allowing for students to move between schools more easily.
Pollio also addressed school security, saying the school board recently approved a weapons detection system, which should be installed in some schools by the end of September or the first of October.
“We will be in the process the next two weeks of having the companies that install it come walk all of our high school campuses,” he said.
Pollio ended the news conference asking for patience from parents as the district works through the first few days of the new school year.
You can find more information about start times, bus routes, and the bus stop request form on the district's back to school web page.
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