Public school students in Louisville are going back to school this week, and we want to talk about it. With you.
The Jefferson County Public Schools system is the state’s largest school district, and it has been beset with issues in recent years — transportation woes, school assignment debates and calls for its dismantling.
Last year’s failed bus plan led to a year of scrutiny and blame that culminated in a controversial decision to cut bus service to district magnet and traditional schools and overhaul start times for many others.
With classes set to begin this week, there’s certainly lots to discuss.
Come to Louisville Public Media’s downtown headquarters to meet the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting’s Jess Clark and the Courier Journal’s Krista Johnson on Tuesday, Aug. 13 at 7:45 a.m. to hear about how they report on JCPS and what storylines to watch as the school year unfolds. You’ll also have time to ask them questions.
The event is free. Register here.
Clark, a JCPS graduate, has reported on education issues for nearly a decade — from the swamps of southeast Louisiana to the mountains of North Carolina and back to Louisville. Recently, she’s been digging into the impacts of the school board’s decision to cut magnet school bus transportation and has led extensive reporting into the district’s student assignment plan.
Johnson is an Iowa native and she’s passionate about local news. She covered education issues in Alabama before joining the Pulitzer Prize-winning Courier Journal. Her reporting on how Central High School would be impacted by the district’s magnet school transportation cuts led the school board to keep bus service for the historic Black high school.
