Ignoring the Evidence

The data showed changes were needed, but those in authority to make changes disregarded it.

Jefferson County has 35 of the 50 Comprehensive Support and Improvement Schools in the state, which means we have 70% of the schools identified as the lowest-performing schools in Kentucky. Kentucky ranks 45th in the country. Where does this put our students when they go out into the workforce? In 2018-19, the last time KPREP was taken, only 37.2% of our high school students scored proficient or distinguished in literacy and the math proficiency rate was 30.5%. With achievement data like this, my problem-solving mind tells me it is time to get back to the basics. The role of public schools is to cultivate the next generation of well-educated citizenry who can think intelligently for themselves. That is not happening in our district.

There are decades of studies and solid evidence demonstrating the benefits of early literacy. In fact, students who learn to read by the time they are in the 3rd grade are exponentially more likely to stay in school, succeed in school, and go on to pursue higher education or a solid career in a trade. This information would lead one to assume that those in charge of ensuring quality education for so many students would focus on early literacy programs with proven results.

In JCPS we have 93 elementary schools. 23 of those have a high transient population. Wouldn't it make more sense for the board to encourage those 23 schools to share a common literacy program so that when a child moves four times in second grade, he can learn to read more seamlessly? Instead, our board is more focused on these schools promoting racial equity theories and programs that have very limited evidence to support demonstrable improvement in basic student achievement. Six million dollars is a lot of taxpayer money to spend on such theories when we aren't even meeting the basic educational needs of so many students.

There is much focus on "equity" across the country and in our district right now. The word "equity" sounds appealing until you realize it actually means forced equality of outcomes. I have four children who have received the same parenting, resources, and opportunities. They do not have the same GPAs, ACT scores, jobs, or money in their savings accounts. As prominent intellectual Thomas Sowell observed, "If you cannot achieve equality of performance among people born to the same parents and raised under the same roof, how realistic is it to expect to achieve it across broader and deeper social divisions?" At the end of the day, the "outcome" is beyond the control of even parents, much less the school board or teachers. I am all for "wraparound services" for those students who need them, but our job is to provide equal opportunities, do our best to teach each child, and keep no child from reaching their potential-not equalize outcomes.

I believe we are committing the most unjust and inequitable crime of all by allowing students to simply move through the system without gaining the skills they need upon graduation. All in the name of equity, we teach them that they can break the rules and suffer no consequences, skip assignments and still pass the class, stay home and still move to the next grade. These are basic skills that employers will expect employees to have and will require before awarding promotions. Talk about setting kids up for failure! Nobody benefits from the lowering of standards and expectations.

I will end with this. School choice has proven to raise student achievement across race, ethnicity, religion, and background. If you truly want to improve outcomes for all students, stop focusing on theories with little evidence to support them and start focusing on the proven solutions that could finally give students in JCPS the chance to succeed beyond our imagination. Let's get back to the basics and take care of our core educational responsibilities to these kids.