LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) - More than three weeks after reaching an agreement with the Kentucky Board of Education to avoid a complete takeover, JCPS is revealing its new plan to improve the schools. That plan addresses the problems outlined in the state's 2017 audit of the district.
Twenty-three pages spell out what change will look like for the state's largest district. The nine parts of the plan focus on a wide range of topics. They include planning, operational support, financial, personnel management, instruction management, career and technical education, and safe crisis management. The district said it's excited to move past this phase and forward with the progress.
“You see the magnitude of the corrective action plan. So, that has been my staff, myself, and KDE staff working together in a room for the past two weeks putting all of this together, making sure that we have a complete document that says on October 1, 2020, what we need to do to be successful,” JCPS Superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio said.
While it may be just making its debut to the public, Pollio said its implementation is well underway.
"I'm not someone who is willing to say let's wait until this is done before we start working on it. We've been working on these deficiencies for months now,” Pollio said.
The plan outlines each focus area and breaks it down with different objectives. Those are based on the different KDE recommendations and explain what action JCPS will take based on each one. The plan also shows who within the district is responsible for carrying out each objective. Every action step will be reviewed either monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually.
"Our ultimate goal here is not just to have a corrective action plan, but to do what's best for kids. I believe, and I've always believed, if we do what's best for kids and we make the right decisions as adults for our students, as an entire district and get behind those initiatives that are going to change outcomes for kids, then we will be successful,” Pollio said.
Gay Adelmann runs Dear JCPS, a parent advocacy group. She said she's talked with several people within JCPS and feels cautiously optimistic about the plan.
"We want the community to stay engaged and involved because this is where the real work comes in. This is where we have to make sure we're getting authentic change in our district and support the district in some of the difficult things that they're going to do in the next two years that may cause discomfort to some of the members of our community, but that's how you achieve equity,” Adelmann said.
Dr. Pollio said JCPS will update the public on a regular basis about the plan's progress.
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