Tagged: The Next Louisville

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.

Seventh grader Charlie Cross sometimes gets frustrated with learning.

“If I don’t know what to do, I’ll raise my hand and they’ll go to other kids and then my hand will get tired so I’ll put it down and I just lay my head down on the desk,” he says.

Cross has been sent to the principal’s office for things like this before. He's also been sent to the district’s alternative school.

He’s not alone.

Jefferson County Public Schools will lay off 41 teachers next school year, half of whom teach special education. 

JCPS officials say state budget and federal sequester cuts are partly the reason for the layoffs, but they also say fewer students are using special education services. 

The state required school districts to submit their layoff lists on May 15.

JCPS' list included 20 Exceptional Child Education (special education) teachers, 11 English teachers, seven physical education teachers and one art teacher.