It seems to me we’ve been talking for a very long time about JCPS being a total mess.
When you say something stinks long enough it becomes fact, bright spots or not.
Personally, if I had to pinpoint the best years in recent time, for our schools, they were the 14 years under superintendent Stephen Daeschner (1993-2007).
I remember the Every 1 Reads program he created. Business leaders, the mayor, numbers of people were in our schools pushing a simple, basic principle of education—read books to kids!
And it worked. The overall test scores were better, and our schools were getting national awards. You were proud to send your child to this elementary school, that middle or high school.
Daeschner believed totally in the power of the principal to drive the school and he included teachers it that mix.
The wheels went off JCPS after he left because the bureaucracy took over. The principals’ voices were muted, and the central office became the powerful “Oz.”
Those protecting their jobs and six-figure salaries slowed down the process for those in trenches.
Before Daeschner left, he was named the top superintendent in Kentucky. When’s the last time we’ve had one of those?
I think we’ve got one now in Louisville native Marty Pollio. He is the first local to run JCPS since the 1970’s.
As he moved through JCPS, Pollio was one of those principals making a difference and I bet you he couldn’t believe some of the things coming out of that main office after Daeschner left.
So now we’re faced with state assistance and a two-year plan to point JCPS back in a positive direction.
We ALL need to be behind JCPS, but we also need to be very skeptical of the political motives by state leaders that led to this move.
We’re going to find out really soon whether we and Pollio can trust the interim commissioner, Wayne Lewis.
Lewis wants a new audit in 2020. There is nothing wrong with that, but then, he alone can make the decision whether JCPS is set free, remains supervised or gets total state takeover treatment.
Keep in the mind, the year before that audit is the governor’s race is in 2019.
Governor Matt Bevin hand selected the Kentucky Board of Education which put Lewis in place. They all carry the fate of JCPS with them.
My opinion: State assistance is so much better than a long drawn out fight. But don’t trust the politicians. Put your money on Pollio, and keep an eye on election day, if the fox starts moving into the hen house.
You can send me your feedback via my email account: dproffitt@whas11.com.