Can the teacher shortage be fixed?
Let's start with the reason you're all probably here: school board candidates and their bubble baths.
As I quipped on Twitter last week, at least two people running to be on the JCPS board have, for reasons unbeknownst to me, at least semi-publicly shared photographic evidence of themselves in the bathtub.
Nothing is revealed, so to speak, but I am curious/fearful if this is a trend for this year's election cycle. Obviously, I will let you know more about this pressing topic, but I hope I don't need to.
So, actual news
The teacher shortage.
We're starting to get a picture of whether a nightmare year for teacher morale is translating to more educators fleeing the classroom.
That's why a routine personnel report from JCPS last week was particularly startling: 82 teachers resigned at the end of the school year. That's the highest figure for a single board report since at least May 2016.
JCPS is seeing around the same number of educators leaving the profession as it was pre-pandemic when you include retirements, but we'll have a clearer picture this month as more personnel decisions are processed.
Teachers I talked to shared a range of reasons for the trend. Frequently being asked to cover for other educators or school staff, including custodians. Hearing a seemingly constant barrage of criticisms of public education. How schools and the public are approaching fights over LGBTQ topics and "critical race theory." Students struggling to process trauma, and fewer ways for teachers to adequately address behavior issues.
There isn't a simple fix. Culture shifts, whether they are within a school or in the political arena, take time. Getting more hands in buildings has proven tough over the past year, even with pushes for extra pay. Training teachers can take years, and often means asking veteran teachers to mentor — adding another thing to their plates.
JCPS is slated to discuss this at a board meeting in mid-August. By then, we'll know how many students started the year without a permanent full-time teacher.
(On a related note: Kentucky's Teacher of the Year, who said recently he's leaving the classroom, was not mentioned during his Montgomery County district's recent school board meeting. His now-former superintendent got a rave review from his board.)
A new home for the GEMS?
JCPS' Afrocentric all-girls academy may be a step closer to finding a permanent home.
Superintendent Marty Pollio and JCPS' equity leader John Marshall pitched building the school in Louisville's Russell neighborhood, hoping to play into a larger push to build up the historically Black area.
If it happens, the school would cost $50 million to build and would include spaces to be shared with the community. It would also include additional annual investments over the next 50 years. Yes, five decades. JCPS didn't provide additional details about what they mean by that.
My question: Where is the new, non-Grace James, West End middle school going?
The West End hasn't gotten a new middle school in decades, and JCPS wants needs to build one to make its new student assignment plan a reality. But, between all of the state requirements for school facilities, there aren't many spots in the West End where a new school could go.
Pollio said during last week's school board meeting he anticipates bringing plans for new school campuses to the board in the coming weeks. They also plan on setting aside a "significant" amount of funding to renovate athletic facilities in the coming months.
ICYMI
Pollio got a strong annual review from his bosses, the local JCPS school board. He has a few things they'd like him to work on, including addressing educator burnout.
State education leaders approved JCPS' request to offer an all-virtual elementary school at the Pathfinder School of Innovation for the coming school year.
Your homework
Two things this week. First, if you are a teacher or recently left the classroom, let me know why you're staying or why you left. I'm at okrauth@gannett.com.
Second, let me know what non-JCPS districts in Kentucky you'd like coverage of using this survey.
OK, bye.
Reach Olivia Krauth at okrauth@courierjournal.com and on Twitter at @oliviakrauth.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Can the teacher shortage be fixed?
