JCPS unveils academic model centered on 'stabilize, strengthen, advance'; summers shift to school‑based proposals
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Summary
Chief Academic Officer Angela Hirsch told the board the district will pursue three commitments—stabilize instruction, strengthen systems and advance learning—after a Cognia review and state accountability identifications; the district will pivot summer learning to school‑based programs funded through multiple sources and has already received dozens of proposals.
Chief Academic Officer Angela Hirsch presented a three‑part academic model to the Jefferson County Board of Education on March 31, saying the district must "stabilize instruction, strengthen systems and advance learning." Hirsch cited a November 2024 Cognia district review and state accountability identifications that placed a notable share of schools in TSI/ATSI/CSI categories and said the district must align coaching, curriculum and on‑demand supports to raise consistency across classrooms.
Hirsch walked trustees through data showing district performance gaps: she told the board the district had 7,161 graduates last year with an average GPA around 2.77 and said only about 25% of students met the state ACT benchmark in math and 48% met the reading benchmark. She described plans to reconstitute instructional structures (including bringing back an MTSS division) and to use a "portrait of an instructional leader" to standardize supervision and coaching. Hirsch said I‑Ready will replace NWEA MAP as the district’s near‑term diagnostic tool and stressed the work will require multi‑year training for principals and teachers.
On summer learning, district staff presented historic enrollment, attendance and payroll figures and announced a strategic pivot to school‑based summer programs financed by multiple funding streams (general fund plus ESS, Title I, SIF and school improvement funds, when available). Slides presented to the board showed roughly 5,000 students enrolled in summer programs in 2022–24 but average daily summer attendance often below 50%. Payroll expenditure figures in the presentation were given as roughly $6.2 million in 2022, $8.1 million in 2023 and roughly $4.1–$4.2 million in later years (payroll only), and staff said they are asking principals to submit measurable proposals that set goals and metrics rather than just activities.
Board members questioned staffing (principal supervisors and coaches), whether special education would be integrated into the academic structure, the risk of driving talented principals away from high‑poverty schools if accountability is applied without supports, and how teacher voice will be included. Hirsch and Superintendent Yearwood said implementation will be iterative, with time for training and principal/teacher feedback. A motion to receive the update on the academic model and summer learning planning options was made and later approved by the board.
Next steps: the district will post position openings for regional assistant superintendent/principal supervisors, evaluate submitted summer proposals (staff reported 31 proposals targeting more than 4,500 students as of the morning of the meeting), and produce a rollout plan with milestones for board review.
