Devin Katayama

While Kentucky students as a whole made small gains in graduation rates during the 2010-2011 school year, Jefferson County Public Schools students fell slightly backwards in most major categories.

In all major categories--including gender and race-- JCPS continues to fall at least 7 percentage points behind the state. This has been consistent with the four previous years the Kentucky Department of Education has provided.

The JCPS total graduation rate dropped from 69.3 percent in 2010 data to 67.8 percent in 2011 bringing the number closer to its 2008 rate of 67.7.

A diverse pool of candidates has filed for Jefferson County’s three open school board seats.  The most recent is local radio host Tom Mitchell, who plans on running an anti-student assignment campaign, according to reports by the Courier-Journal.

As the deadline to file nears--Aug. 14--some are hoping interest in the races increases. That idea was included in  former Courier-Journal editor David Hawpe's opening speech at the Louisville Forum Wednesday afternoon.

The University of Louisville's College of Arts and Sciences Dean, J. Blaine Hudson, is taking a leave of absence following cranial surgery.

Hudson sent a message Monday night [below] through assistant dean John Ferre. The e-mail, which was forwarded to college staff, said Hudson had undergone cranial surgery and will now take time to rest. The prognosis remains positive, he wrote, but officials expect him out indefinitely.

“We don’t know how long he’s going to be gone and let me be really clear, we are expecting him back," said U of L provost Shirley Willihnganz.

Jefferson County Public Schools is one of 107 Kentucky school districts that will use screeners this year to improve education for their youngest students.

The state adopted the BRIGANCE kindergarten screener offered by Curriculum Associates, which is being piloted this school year and planned to be implemented in all districts by the 2013-2014 year.

A task force of Kentucky lawmakers is using the next few months to figure out how the state can improve digital learning across all classrooms in the commonwealth.

The General Assembly agreed to form the task force to review possible legislative changes that encourage using more technology in schools.

The goal now is to propose legislation that pairs up the state with successful digital education providers or programs, said task force co-chair Rep. Carl Rollins.

Louisville’s PTA is hosting its annual back-to-school clothing blitz this week and officials say they expect a large turnout this year for the program, which serves less fortunate Jefferson County Public Schools students.

The clothing assistance program, or CAP, last year served between 1,000 to 1,500 students just during blitz week, according to CAP director Paula Wolf.

Two candidates have filed to run for Jefferson County Public School’s District 4 seat, which is being vacated by Joe Hardesty, who has served on the school board since 1990.

Melissa “Missy” Smith and Lloyd “Chip” White are the latest to file for one of the district’s three seats up for grabs this fall. Steve Imhoff's District 2 seat and Larry Hujo's District 7 seat are also up for grabs this fall.

District 4 covers parts of southwest Louisville.

The U.S. Department of Education will continue funding Advanced Placement tests for Kentucky’s low-income students this school year, but public schools in Jefferson County with the highest passing AP rates also have the lowest number of low-income students.

“In 2010-2011 which is the latest data I have, in Kentucky public schools there were approximately 38,000 AP exams taken," said Lisa Gross, spokeswoman for the Kentucky Department of Education.

While local PTA leaders have stressed the importance of parent engagement, membership in Jefferson County’s 15th District PTA has decreased the last three years.

Parent engagement has long been said to be crucial to student success, and local leaders are asking parents to step up participation.

President Cherie Dimar said in the 2009-2010 school year the 15th District PTA—which includes 141 local PTAs—had 55,521 members. The following year there were 47,287 members and last year membership was at 41,514.