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SubscribeThe initial period for students to apply for enrollment in the Jefferson County Public School (JCPS) District for the 2017-18 school year is now underway. The application period launched October 31 and ends January 6.
Applications should be submitted for the following students:
- All children entering kindergarten
- Elementary school students who wish to apply to an optional/magnet program or school
- Students entering or currently in middle school or high school who wish to apply to an optional/magnet program or school
- Students for whom an application was previously submitted but whose family has since moved, thus creating a need to resubmit using the new address
- Students entering a Jefferson County public school for the first time
Families should register by visiting the JCPS website and clicking Register & Apply on the homepage. Applications can also be submitted at the JCPS Parent Assistance Center at 4309 Bishop Lane.
For the first time, JCPS has also launched a predictability tool for families to use when making their choice among elementary schools within their cluster. Parents can answer a few questions online and receive information on how likely applicants with similar circumstances received their first choice in the past.
Additionally, the JCPS Mobile Registration Bus will hit the road this week in an effort to help students and their families register for the 2017-18 school year.
The bus, which is equipped with laptops and Internet access, will make its first of 16 stops on Tuesday, Nov. 1, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., at the George Unseld Early Childhood Learning Center (5216 Ilex Ave.). A complete list of JCPS Mobile Registration Bus stops is available online here.
Families also have the opportunity to tour prospective schools during an open house or tour. The schedules for elementary, middle and high schools are available here.
Parents who have questions regarding the school registration process may call the JCPS Parent Assistance Center at 485-6250.
Lisa Harrison Rogers, a 1989 Southern High School graduate who led the Lady Trojans to a state basketball championship in 1988 and later played basketball in the WNBA, earned another distinction last week when her banner was unfurled at the school: Hometown Hero.
Harrison, a former Kentucky Miss Basketball, Naismith Prep Player of the Year and High School Player of the Year, joined former and current Southern faculty and students to unveil “Lisa’s Louisville” on the high school’s front-facing exterior wall.
“My four years at Southern were some of the most dear to my heart,” Harrison said. “Playing at the University of Tennessee, being a professional athlete and playing in the WNBA, it all started because of the opportunities I had here at Southern. I should be honoring them – they’re the ones who made me who I am today.”
“This banner will serve as an inspiration to all our students that they, too, can be at the top of their game if they are willing to work very hard and develop their own gifts and talents,” said Linda Duncan, Jefferson County School Board member for District 5, which includes Southern.
After Southern, Harrison played under the late Pat Summit at the University of Tennessee, where she was a member of the 1991 NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball Championship team. She had a nine-year professional basketball career, playing six of those for the Phoenix Mercury in the WBNA. Harrison has also been inducted into the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame and the Kentucky Coaches Hall of Fame.
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Lisa’s accomplishments on the basketball court are only part of her story,” said Southern Principal Bryce Hibbard. “She never forgot that she got her start here in Louisville, and particularly here at Southern. She is a natural honoree for this recognition, and we are proud to call her our own.”
The school’s alumni association raised funds for the banner.
Harrison’s image hangs alongside another Southern alumnus: Phil Simms, a former NFL quarterback and two-time Super Bowl champion. Simms graduated from the high school in 1974.
Doss High School faculty and students joined local manufacturers and community leaders last Friday to announce the creation of the school’s new Manufacturing Engineering Technology program. The program aims to expand the manufacturing workforce pipeline with students who understand emerging technologies, and exposes young people to the significant career opportunities available in advanced manufacturing.
Anchored by the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council’s (MSSC) Certified Production Technician Training Program (CPT), students completing the program will earn certifications already identified by nearly 100 local industries as the skills and knowledge needed by front-line production technicians.
“Very few high school programs exist that are dedicated to preparing students with the variety of skills needed to directly enter manufacturing upon graduation, and even fewer high schools partner with local businesses to match learning with workforce needs,” said Doss Principal Marty Pollio. “This project offers training and advancement opportunities for student who want to work, learn and earn in a manufacturing field.”
Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow, a member institute of Manufacturing USA, along with local manufacturing companies GE Appliances, Republic Conduit and Louisville Ford Assembly Plant, as well as local United Auto Workers with Ford, have committed both financial and in-kind support to develop and implement the program.
“Doss High School and JCPS are showing great leadership by implementing this program which directly ties education and training with workforce needs,” said Chip Blankenship, GE Appliances president & CEO. “Programs like this are essential to providing manufacturing companies in Greater Louisville with the talent we need to run and grow our operations while providing good career opportunities for our citizens.”
The partnership with these organizations, as well as with KentuckianaWorks, will enable Doss to offer students who choose this program of study:
- a four-course program of study in Manufacturing Engineering Technology Technician;
- development of a hands-on laboratory equipped with trainers that align to the skills required for MSSC-Certified Production Technician certification;
- experience and training that develop employability skills for personal success and safety, as well as manufacturing organizational skills;
- opportunities to complete a work-based learning experience with a local manufacturer before completing the program of study; and
- opportunities to earn industry-recognized certifications, including MSSC-Certified Production Technician Certification and the National Career Readiness Certificate.
Manufacturers in the United States are facing a steep skills gap. According to a recent Deloitte study, as many as 2 million manufacturing jobs may go unfilled by 2025, a trend being experienced in the Greater Louisville area.
Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) will hold its annual Showcase of Schools this weekend, offering parents and students a convenient opportunity to visit with JCPS staff and representatives of each school and get information about optional and magnet programs before deciding which school the student will attend next year.
The Showcase will feature all grades – elementary, middle and high – during both days of the two-day event. The Showcase will be held from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28, and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29. This year, the Showcase will be held at the Kentucky Exposition Center, South Wing B, 937 Phillips Lane. The Showcase is relocating temporarily while the Kentucky International Convention Center in downtown Louisville is under renovation.
Representatives from the Optional, Magnet and Advance Programs Office; Student Assignment; Transportation; Parent Teacher Association (PTA); and Demographics will also be available to answer questions and explain application procedures to parents.
“We’re proud of the many choices that JCPS offers and we want all of our students engaged in the choice process,” said Dr. Donna Hargens, JCPS superintendent. “The Showcase is an excellent way for parents and students to learn about JCPS, get an overview of the district and compare the program offerings designed to address the varied interests of our diverse student population.”
The online registration/ application period for the 2017/2018 school years is Monday, Oct. 31, 2016 to Friday, Jan. 6, 2017.
Regular day-of-event parking rate of $8 per vehicle will apply. For more information on the Showcase, call 485-3323. For more information on the online application process, call 485-6250.
Central High School today unveiled The Colony maker space, the school’s new home for its proposed Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics (STEM) Innovation magnet program and the centerpiece of its partnership with the University of Louisville J. B. Speed School of Engineering.
In addition to helping create a college-bound culture for underrepresented students, the partnership and maker space aim to encourage more female and minority students to pursue engineering and science studies.
“Think of this as a 21st century shop class, where students can design, and create, and bring their ideas to fruition,” said Central Principal Raymond Green.
Green added that students in the STEM program will study a wide range of foundations – coding, robotics, engineering, even hacking – to give them the skills they need to succeed in an increasingly technology-driven world. The goal, he said, will be for them to graduate from Central with a patent or trademark in their name.
“I’m particularly proud of how student-focused this space is, from the technology and equipment that will be the new norm for students as they continue to study and hone their skills, all the way down to the name they selected for their area,” said Dr. Donna Hargens, superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools. “ ‘The Colony’ is not only a play on Central’s mascot, but a fitting term to describe the teamwork, innovation, and hard work that will go one here.”
The center also creates a foundation for the school’s strong partnership with Speed School. In addition to providing Central with up to five scholarships per year, the engineering school will allow qualifying high school seniors to take freshman-level college classes; will sponsor robotics tournaments and hack-a-thons at the center; and will help write the STEM Innovation curriculum.
“Our goal with these maker space facilities is to increase interest in the STEM fields and to help students grow their self-confidence,” said UofL Acting President Neville Pinto. “Expect to see our Speed School students here working alongside Central students on engineering projects.”
The space is being furnished with $30,000 of prototype furniture gifted from student-focused furniture maker Artcobell and $20,000 of innovative equipment, including 3D printers, laser cutters and robot fields, funded by a Verizon Innovation grant.
The unveiling was held in conjunction with a national conference highlighting dual-credit courses and college partnerships. Central was selected for one of the breakout sessions of the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment (NACEP), to showcase how dual credit opportunities can effectively create a college-going culture for minority students. Two dozen attendees visited Central to learn about its deep partnerships with UofL.
“We know that high quality dual credit can have a powerful impact on students’ postsecondary success, yet fewer opportunities are available to students in the nation’s large urban school districts. Even when those opportunities are present, they tend to be available only to select students in relatively well-off schools,” said NACEP Executive Director Adam Lowe. “We hope that the partnership between the University of Louisville and Central High School will inspire others to commit to developing dual credit opportunities for students who will benefit the most from these programs.”
Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) has named Fairdale High School Principal Brad Weston as Assistant Superintendent for Achievement Area 2.
Weston, who has served as principal since 2011, has led Fairdale through a dramatic academic turnaround during his tenure, including improving statewide assessment scores and adopting the Cambridge International Studies program. A former assistant principal at the high school, he has also worked directly with students as a math teacher and counselor at Fairdale and Doss high schools.
“I’m excited by the opportunity to positively impact several thousand students and several hundred teachers in 28 schools,” Weston said. He said while he will miss working with the Fairdale staff and students, “I am thrilled that this new opportunity will allow me to continue working for and with Fairdale High School.”
“Brad has a proven track record of improving student achievement, and he spent many years as a teacher in the classroom and as a principal,” said JCPS Superintendent Dr. Donna Hargens. “His experience will be invaluable as we look to increase student achievement across Area 2.”
Weston will stay on at the school until his replacement is named.
Weston holds a bachelor’s degree in math from the University of Louisville and a master’s degree in education with an emphasis in secondary school counseling from Western Kentucky University. His Rank 1 in administration is also from WKU.
With thousands of kindergarteners across Louisville successfully starting the school year, a special celebration today recognized one Jefferson County Public School (JCPS) district preschool for helping prepare its students to start classes ready to learn.
At the Unseld Early Learning Center in Newburg this morning, Mayor Greg Fischer, and Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Hargens joined Louisville Free Public Library (LFPL) Director Jim Blanton in congratulating Unseld Center staff for having 100 percent completion in the Library’s 1000 Books Before Kindergarten Challenge last school year. The 1000 Books Before Kindergarten Challenge, a free Louisville Free Public Library program, encourages families, caregivers, and educators to read at least 1,000 books with their young children before kindergarten.
“While 1,000 books may seem like a lot,” Blanton said, “it can be accomplished in less than a year by reading as little as 15 minutes a day—that’s just three picture books.”
The 1000 Books Before Kindergarten Challenge — sponsored by the Library Foundation and the Community Foundation of Louisville — is free and open to children beginning at birth, and their caregivers. Spending just 15 minutes a day reading to preschool-age children builds vocabulary, language skills, and helps prepare them with the skills they need for school.
“We want to encourage all families, caregivers and concerned citizens in Jefferson County to help us create a city where all our kids are reading at least 1,000 books before they enter kindergarten,” said Mayor Fischer. “The people here at the Unseld Early Childhood Center have shown us the way. Because of their work, hundreds of children started kindergarten this fall ready!”
Thanks to the Unseld Center’s commitment to the program, and having all 300 students complete the Challenge, the Center was the recipient of a $500 Barnes & Noble gift card prize drawing from the Library.
“Developing an early habit for reading not only builds our youngest student’s language skills and gets them ready for school, but it pays dividends for years to come by creating a lifelong love for learning,” said JCPS Superintendent Dr. Donna Hargens.
The 1000 Books Before Kindergarten Challenge, which originated at the Bremen Public Library in Bremen, Ind., was launched at the LFPL in January 2014. And the challenge to read has been met with great success. Since the program began, nearly 20,000 children have signed up—with more than 2800 having reached the 1,000 books milestone.
For more information, call (502) 574-1620 or visit LFPL.org/1000Books.