Author: jcpswatch

Privatization of Public Education, Safe Return to School

“Caught in the Middle”: Huge Discrepancies Found in JCPS COVID Dashboard

jcpswatch

As COVID cases continue to spike in Jefferson county and across the country, amidst a newly reported outbreak in respiratory virus infections, as well, Jefferson County’s public school system is no exception. Add to the mix a vindictive Kentucky GOP supermajority that plotted and schemed with the likes of one-term governor, Matt Bevin, to pursue their political party’s agenda and strip executive powers away from his popular and charismatic replacement, Andy Beshear. These executive powers had previously allowed any Kentucky governor the right to grant a district in crisis more than 10 days of “non-traditional instruction” or NTI, and not risk their SEEK funding being held hostage for doing so. Between SB1 and HB208 during last year’s session, which I explain in an earlier post, that’s exactly what they’ve done.

Kentucky’s new governor obviously suffered these blows because the losing political party wanted revenge. They concocted a plan to make NTI, which many districts were already utilizing as a response to the crisis created by the pandemic, ILLEGAL AFTER THE FACT. But instead of responding with righteous indignation, the powers that be, including our own allies who fear being voted out of office more than they fear going to hell, apparently, participated in the spread of even more lies and manipulation by falling for the gimmicks of the GOP. They were told HB208 would solve the problem they had created so that SEEK funding could once again flow to the students of schools that had participated in the “illegal” act of NTI and all would be well again.

Unfortunately, the bill also contained “trojan horse” language that would force all school districts to reopen to in-person schooling before the end of the school year, presumably so testing companies could get their data and revenue. HB208 is the real reason JCPS and other districts were forced to reopen to in-person classes before the 2020-2021 school year ended. Thanks to much outcry from districts with vulnerable populations, especially ours, a last-minute compromise allowed districts to continue with a hybrid plan (half capacity, two days per week in person, with the remainder of instruction online) until the end of the year. This exception enabled Joint Education Committee Vice Chair Regina Huff to retain her favorable rating with the state-wide teachers union, Kentucky Educators Association, while she managed to successfully bluff her way through playing both sides long enough that the bill was passed, practically as the 2021 session gaveled out. The tea party libertarians who had concocted this plan hated the compromise so much they actually called for the revised bill to be killed, once again showing that they are willing to use children as pawns in their political charades. The compromises were only good until the end of the school year, however, and 2021-2022 was a whole new ballgame.

Summer never stopped to take a breath. The “big lie” gained momentum and a new deadly variant of COVID began to spread like wildfire, just in time to put our district and most of our state in the red as school was set to reopen. Vaccine resistance and mask-wearing became badges of honor, and the only way for these folks to continue to live in the lie, was to reject history and science and to ridicule others who don’t fall in line. They began storming our local school board meetings, work sessions and committee hearings. Along with it came the rise of anti-CRT legislation and outcry over the dogwhistle narrative that teaching history accurately “creates division” and is “hateful” and “divisive.” Truth is, the base of white supremacists is dwindling, and these desperate tactics are used to recruit new blood to help keep the “big lie” alive.

The billionaire elites, with Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul as experienced tour guides, have mastered the practice of preying upon the innocence and man-made ignorance of Kentuckians through their well-funded campaigns of disinformation, fear and hate. Despite the best efforts organizations like ours and countless others, and the will of the people we represent, they continue with their destruction unobstructed. We know that not everyone sees what is going on or believes us when we tell them. But we don’t think we have to convince everyone. We, the Leadership Team of Dear JCPS and practically everyone I’ve spoken to in the JCPS community who shares these experiences, believe we are enough.

It’s time to rise up.

I would like encourage everyone reading this post to realize the seriousness of the situations our families and educators across the state were placed in BEFORE this latest Delta variant surge, with every district being forced by that same GOP legislature to offer in-person instruction. Our current predicament does not even take into account the next wave that we fear is coming based on the reports we at Dear JCPS are receiving of cases that are not being accurately reported on the JCPS COVID Dashboard. We believe we have a moral obligation to share, not only what we’ve been hearing, since those we entrust to keep us safe can not always be counted on to do so. 

To that end, I decided to compare yesterday afternoon’s JCPS COVID dashboard numbers to this morning, and I noticed an alarming increase overnight. Four new schools joined the club, and the number of infected and quarantined students and staff jumped, in some cases, by nearly 20%. On top of that, we are hearing alarming reports of cases that have still not made it to the dashboard, 48 hours after they were discovered. Sources tell us letters going home to families don’t match the numbers in the dashboard. In-school nurses are being asked to fudge numbers or data they report to the district, making healthcare professionals feel “caught in the middle.”

I was about to post this blog when something strange happened.

After an entire day of on again, off again internet issues, I was about to post my findings, when I decided to refresh my screen for the 3:00 PM update. That’s when I noticed that there was an even more dramatic jump over the 24-hour timeframe after I had already been reeling over the overnight numbers. As my brain tried to grasp what I was looking at, panic began to set in when I realized I had no way to disseminate these findings effectively. My chest felt like there was an elephant standing on it. I had to get the word out! But because I’m currently on a 7-day Facebook ban, and in a remote location with spotty internet, I have been down for the count. 

I crunched the numbers and tried to dust off a fake account from my last Facebook ban to see if I could make that account an admin and post to our page. No luck. Another hour goes by, so I did the 4 PM refresh to see how much higher it went and guess what? The numbers went BACK DOWN to more in line with the trend we had been seeing at 10 am, 1 PM and 2 PM. Where did those 10 new sites go? What happened to nearly 400 new cases or quarantines? Meanwhile, I added another tab to the spreadsheet and came up with even more questions and concerns. I tried to capture the discrepancies in the following video.

What happened to the numbers between 3 PM and 4 PM? – YouTube

Sorting by facility or group name, these 10 sites that were new on the 3 PM report had disappeared again by the 4 PM report.

Meanwhile, a parent had been messaging me since 7:49 Friday morning saying, “Some schools haven’t listed their cases from last week.” I told them I had seen and heard this from numerous sources, and for that reason I was working on a data gathering tool to try to triage and make sense of the conflicting information. Later that afternoon, I shared my discovery of the spike, including the 10 mystery sites with them. That is when they informed me that their site is on the “missing” list, confessing, “Letters were sent to families on August 18 regarding our school having a positive case.” 

  • What is the source of this extraneous data? 
  • Why are these sites not showing up on the dashboard (other than that one time)? We have confirmation they should be there.
  • What caused this blip to show up just one time and not on previous or future reports? Are they suppressing it on purpose? Keeping two sets of data?
  • How many more situations like these are there?

In addition to the 10 sites that are missing from the ongoing reports, several of the sites that are consistently reported also contributed to that spike at 3 PM. I tried to capture a sort order that shows some of the sites with the largest discrepancies based on student cases here:

If anyone has any additional information to share, you may email me at moderator@dearjcps.com. Lives may hang in the balance. Rest assured, correspondence will be kept confidential and identities will be protected. 

How many others are not accurately reported? Help us find out by reporting missing or conflicting info on our survey.

The data spike during the 3 PM report possibly masked schools that DID experience significant increases in the 4 PM report, such as Lowe Elementary, which according to my comparisons, actually added 10 more students to the quarantine list while everyone else’s numbers were going down, taking them from 38 to 48. Please check the dashboard and ask around at your school to find out if there are discrepancies in your data, and use the survey to report them. We will compile the information to share in a confidential and orderly fashion so that others can have access to the same information we have and you can help the district troubleshoot where breakdowns are occurring.

And even without this unexplained anomaly, the increase in the number of cases and quarantines from Thursday to Friday is still alarming, with case numbers increasing between 20-36% in just one day. With more and more teachers and staff out on quarantine, and a dire substitute situation, this continues to not safe. We will see more situations like the one we saw with a student at Pleasure Ridge Park who was left to fend for themselves after more and more of them are corralled into cafeterias and gymnasiums to maintain control. Meanwhile, opportunistic lawmakers and politicians will use any violent outbreaks as an opportunity to blame the district leaders for removing police from our schools instead of admitting the 1,000 other things they did or didn’t do that got us here in the first place. It’s already happening, and I would even argue it was a calculated maneuver.

So we already know it’s bad. The questions are, “How much worse is it than we realize?” and “What are we going to do about it?”

Our community needs transparency in order to make the best decisions. In order to prevent avoidable suffering, humans have to be willing to see that our actions (or inactions) have cause and effect, and anticipate where our society is headed in order to make the best preparations. Change is inevitable. We can sit back and helplessly wait for it to happen to us, or we can recognize that each of us has the power to be the change that MUST happen and guide it in for a safer landing. The sooner we bend the arc of the moral universe towards justice, the less fallout, carnage and repercussions there will be. Parents, students, teachers and staff hold the power to make this shift happen sooner rather than later. And as they say in the medical profession, 

an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Our Leadership Team will make every effort to validate, vet and share the information as it comes in, so you can continue to weigh all available information when making your own personal decisions about the health and safety of your families, but also to alert anyone in a position of authority who might be able to intervene on our behalf. To get a better sense of how widespread these disparities are, and streamline the vetting process, we have created a COVID discrepancy survey for parents/guardians and JCPS employees to report discrepancies, concerns, etc. that they are aware of. Participants will have the option to remain anonymous, and any personal data shared with us will not be shared with anyone outside of the Dear JCPS Leadership Team.

Thank you as we ALL do our part to keep our students, families and community safe! If you have updates to provide, please email moderator@dearjcps.com or come back and complete the form again. Please try to provide timestamps with your documentation so competing or duplicate reports can be reconciled.

 

 

Privatization of Public Education, Racial Equity

“Listen to the Black People!”

jcpswatch

During a recent press conference, hosted by the Kentucky Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, a heckler began talking loudly to the crowd while one of our local community leaders, Vincent Gonzalez, was speaking. The press conference, which was held at Central High School ahead of the July 27, 2021 JCPS School Board Meeting, focused on our community’s unapologetic support for the teaching of accurate history and the practicing of equity, diversity and inclusion, as well as halting recently proposed legislation that would make doing so illegal. This interruption went on for quite some time, as several individuals from the crowd went over to try to kindly ask the belligerent woman to be respectful, to no avail. My latest blog post, entitled, “Listen to the Black People!,” details the events and dynamics that took place during those tense moments. Thank you for taking a moment to check it out.

Racial Equity

More intel on the white supremacists who have been storming local school board meetings in Kentucky.

jcpswatch

After individuals carrying symbols suggesting they were affiliated with neo-Nazi hate groups and insurrectionists stormed the June 29 JCPS Work Session, some of these same folks were spotted at the Oldham County School Board meeting the following Monday night.  These bad actors are not the “stakeholders” they pretend to be. 

Many of the grassroots organizations and individuals who are closest to the challenges faced in a large urban district like JCPS have been waiting for nearly a year and a half, BEFORE the pandemic and BEFORE the murder of JCPS graduate Breonna Taylor, to have their voices heard. And they’ve waited even longer and more patiently to see the structural racism that’s baked into our systems,  student assignment plan and resource distribution, addressed. Yet out of nowhere, these mostly white parents and “concerned stakeholders” show up and start making demands and even threatening our leaders over things like mask mandates? How privileged must one be to think their “right” to expose others to a deadly virus trumps the safety and education of our most vulnerable students? To folks who never bothered to show up constructively to work with district and community leaders to find solutions, and to others who are coming from outside counties and states to disrupt meetings with their misinformed positions, I say, “get in line.”

Other right-wing radicals from the meeting have been spotted taking the lead in organizing around irrational and unnecessary “pro-life” legislation, dangerous constitutional amendment changes, and even demanding reinstatement of a cop who showed up in uniform, driving a patrol car, to protest against women’s legal right to access abortion. We believe these are likely the same “great people” who think Trump won the election and could be disingenuously using the CRT issue to sow discord in order to recruit for their next coup as early as next month. They were seen with the 111%ers who are linked to those in attendance at the JCPS meeting, some of whom bear a “We The People” tattoo, and wear distinctive facial hair, clothing and jewelry. They may also be associated with the Patriot Front hate group that left their signature on murals they recently defaced. They even went so far as to have left their hate group’s calling card on a local Black reporter’s windshield. 

Thank you for sharing this information and helping us keep the public informed. Please send tips or leads to moderator@dearjcps.com.

Privatization of Public Education, Racial Equity, Teachable Moment

Radical Right-Wing Groups Have Infiltrated JCPS Organizations and Are Spreading Misinformation

jcpswatch

A coalition is forming! Join us as we band together to fight the latest attacks on public education and our people as lawmakers nationwide attempt to deny the right of every student to learn an accurate and comprehensive US History. Sign up for our email list to get updates on meetings, strategies and other ways you can support our students, teachers and public schools during this historical time.

Be on the look out for those claiming that “Critical Race Theory” is divisive and teaches hate. These people may be in your child’s school’s parent teacher group, on your Facebook feed, attend the same church, or even be in your own family. If they make this intellectually lazy claim, prod them for details. You will learn that their claims can be easily debunked. They have likely not done any research, but instead are simply repeating divisive and hateful messaging they’ve heard elsewhere, perhaps from people they trust. The originators of this untruth are usually those who want to keep others under their feet. People at the head of an organization, a committee, a parish or a household. Usually, white men.

It’s almost as if they WANT public schools to fail so they can bring in charter schools and profit off our tax dollars while simultaneously denying quality education to those who don’t have the means. 

These claims have nothing to do with what Critical Race Theory actually is or what it does. But since CRT is a college-level course, and none of us has the spare time or funds required to master that curriculum just to figure out who to believe, let’s cut to the chase.

What you need to know:

  1. Critical Race Theory is not taught in JCPS, or any public primary or secondary school in Kentucky, for that matter. This is a solution looking for a problem and “much ado about nothing.”
  2. Critical Race Theory is college-level legal coursework curriculum. It’s just that. A theory. It focuses on how race has played a role in disparate outcomes between white and non-white persons in the criminal justice system. That’s it. It doesn’t teach hate. It doesn’t blame white people for slavery. None of that nonsense.
  3. The bill that has been introduced in Kentucky does not mention Critical Race Theory, but instead lists a dozen concepts public school employees must not discuss with their students.
  4. Failure to comply exposes the school district to thousands of dollars in fines.
  5. Many of the concepts it prohibits teachers from teaching either don’t happen, or are already illegal, including acts of treason. Most of the 12 provisions are unnecessary, redundant and superfluous, clearly to create disinformation and spread fear.
  6. Of the few provisions that actually change the laws on the books, they serve more to protect white feelings than they do to protect Black lives.
  7. The bill’s language and threat of punishment will have a chilling effect on teachers’ ability to provide their students with factual historical information, regardless of context, and denies students their right to a quality public education.
  8. The bill would take authority to supervise employees away from local district leaders and place it in the hands of the Attorney General, currently Daniel Cameron. It eliminates stakeholders’ abilities to hold board members accountable to what is taught and what is prohibited.
  9. The bill would violate free speech, while protecting corruption and structural racism.
  10. This is a waste of resources. This is a lawsuit they are likely to lose. We don’t have money for textbooks, but we have money to fight this in court? Where are our priorities again?
  11. Groups that are supportive of this bill have demonstrated ties to ALEC (The American Legislative Exchange Council), the Koch Brothers, Mitch McConnell, Matt Bevin, and radical right wing organizations, to name a few.
  12. Fearmongerers spreading these concepts have infiltrated many grassroots and social media groups, allowing this misinformation to be spread unchecked. They are running for school boards and other top seats, and in fact, this language has already become law in many other neighboring states and school districts.
  13. Please be outspoken and vigilant when you encounter this messaging. Feel free to tag Dear JCPS on social media if you need backup.
  14. If only lawmakers would spend half the energy looking for ways to help and support our public schools as they do they do figuring out how to tie our hands and punish us, while demanding more with no additional funding, we might actually get somewhere. It’s almost as if they WANT public schools to fail so they can bring in charter schools and profit off our tax dollars while simultaneously denying quality education to those who don’t have the means. 
  15. More information will be forthcoming about a coalition that is forming, as well as strategies to support our students, teachers and our public schools. Click here to join our email list.

Here are some additional links you may find helpful:

Link to KY’s Proposed Bill (LRC)

Statement from JCPS Chief Equity Officer Dr. John Marshall (Courier-Journal)

Metro Council Discusses Critical Race Theory (WHAS11) 

Debating Critical Race Theory with Joe Fischer and Gerald Neal (KET Tonight)

Statement from Save Our Schools Kentucky

Black History Matters

Does Academic Freedom Shield Teachers as States Take Aim at Critical Race Theory? (EdWeek)

This week’s Forward Radio program, That Racist Anti-CRT Bill

Accountability, Privatization of Public Education, Racial Equity

NOW PLAYING: That time JCPS leaders conspired to vote an anti-racist off the district-wide Executive PTA Board.

jcpswatch

#PatternOrPracticeJCPS Series

Now playing on Soundcloud, this week’s episode of Save Our Schools With Dear JCPS is part of our new “Pattern or Practice” Series. This series features historical records from the Audio Archives tab. These podcasts attempt to tell the true stories of what really happened behind the scenes in JCPS as we continue the work to dismantle structural racism in the district.
 
My name is Gay Adelmann. I am the co-founder and president of Dear JCPS. In March of 2017, JCPS leaders conspired to vote me off the 15th District PTA board after I advocated for Maupin Elementary students and families. Don’t take my word for it, listen to excerpts from two of those meetings on this week’s program. The longer versions of these conversations and more can also be found there, with more being added regularly.
 
WHY IT MATTERS? These types of patterns and practices continue to harm West Louisville families and schools to this day. Sign our petition here.
 
Listen to the program below:

Accountability, Privatization of Public Education, Racial Equity

“Duty of Obedience” in JCPS Organizations’ Bylaws Promotes “Pattern or Practice” of Discrimination

jcpswatch

Dear JCPS is publishing this piece as part of a series dedicated to identifying patterns or practices of discrimination in JCPS. To sign our petition to encourage the US Department of Justice to investigate JCPS and its outside entities, please click here.

At this moment, JCTA PR’s (Professional Representatives, also known as “building representatives”) are expected to be voting to approve proposed bylaws changes that will make it possible for a handful of their officers to discriminate against members who advocate for minority populations, and even remove them from their elected roles on the organizations’ board.

Think it can’t happen here? It already has.

Recent controversy, including betrayals from endorsed elected officials, a botched political action committee (PAC) election and a challenge to JCTA’s General Election, and other things they’re not telling you, the incumbent JCTA officers have been feeling the heat more than usual. Having personally experienced a similar series of events when I was serving as a Vice President for the 15th District PTA in 2017, I recognized this latest maneuver to modify the bylaws as a means to force out anyone who the establishment leadership disagrees with as something similar that happened to me and several other JCPS moms who stood up for schools in West Louisville. In fact, in March of 2017, the 15th District PTA Board voted to remove me for speaking up for parents and students at Maupin Elementary, a high-poverty, high-minority population school in the district’s highly segregated “West End.” And in 2019, they conducted a closed-door emergency bylaws meeting in order to prevent me from serving, had I been elected when I and five other parents “ran from the floor” to serve on the 15th District PTA Board.

As you can hear from the short audiotape I made from that Emergency Board meeting that night, “duty of obedience” was cited as grounds for the motion for my removal. It will be interesting to watch as JCTA looks for ways to target anyone who is disloyal to their organization. The entire recording of the 2017 meeting, as well as follow-up meetings, can be found on our website under the Audio Archives tab. More will continue to be added.

Accountability, Privatization of Public Education, Standardized Testing

Refuse KPREP!

jcpswatch

If there was ever an ideal time for students concerned about educational justice to “opt out” of high stakes testing, this is it! Due to the pandemic, the scores won’t count, so why are they being administered at all? Because the federal government threatens to withhold badly needed funding if we don’t keep doing things the way we’ve always done them, even when we know they are harmful to our most vulnerable students and schools, and divert money and time away from what actually matters. We’ve put together some tools and resources to support families who want to learn more about their rights and responsibilities around KPREP. Visit www.dearjcps.com/refuse-KPREP.

Accountability, Privatization of Public Education, Racial Equity

Pattern or Practice of Discrimination in JCPS

jcpswatch

A new section of our website has been created to archive evidence and provide real-life examples of systemic or institutionalized racism within JCPS that have been documented by our group’s organizers.

Some of these patterns include:

  • Abuse of power. Such as blacklisting, or bullying, to maintain power and “send a message”/terrorize.
  • Retaliation. Such as causing harm to or making threats against those who report harmful behavior.
  • Setups. Such as assigning impossible/competing tasks so every possible outcome results in .
  • Fraud. Manufacturing or tampering with evidence.
  • Election Tampering. Rigged or heavily influenced elections, whether it be JCTA, PTAs or SBDM’s and other outside groups’ own internal elections, or them putting their thumbs on the scales of justice and politics by influencing everything from school board races and General Assembly elections, to the passage of a tax increase on the 2020 ballot.
  • Cover ups. Hiding “bad news” or honest mistakes, turning the inconvenient truth into fraud.
  • Waste of taxpayer dollars. High-priced attorneys and even higher-priced secret settlements are costing taxpayers unknown millions of wasted dollars. Dirty administrators, protected by poorly written laws, continue committing the same offenses. Internal investigations, of course, finds no wrongdoing, so nothing changes. The avoidable pattern repeats. The system’s downward spiral intensifies with each uncorrected punch.
  • Doubling down. Denied or delayed responses to claims of discrimination, even when we show them they are doing it, they refuse to see or acknowledge the disparities and the role they continue to play.

Where does it end? Many who see it or are victims of it themselves burn out or move out to keep themselves and their families safe and sane. Others clock out in unhealthy or self-destructive ways. Many succumb to it, by way of death, dysfunction, homelessness, bankruptcy, shame, job loss, physical or mental health, incarceration, the legal system, addiction or suicide. But the lucky ones simply get numb to it. They have tried and failed enough times to know that any continued efforts of speaking up against an injustice bring unwanted attention and negative outcomes to them and theirs. They are watching the clock and hoping they can keep their heads down and try to go about their lives and work unnoticed until retirement, even if it is less than what they were promised. This describes every teacher I know who has been doing this job more than 10 years. The rest of us, who refuse to participate in the nonsense, what’s left for us? We have reached the end of the road and the only solutions left seem to be a jury of their peers or pitchforks. And I’m not seeing any indication that the court of law is ready for this conversation. We are seeing how the repeated failure of leadership to address the needs and rights of the people eventually plays out in other countries’ wars right now.

We talk about how our problems are because the kids misbehave with no consequences, well, the worst offenders in JCPS think they are untouchable and they treat the deep Jefferson County taxpayer pockets as their personal legal slush fund.

Some of the specific events where discrimination took place that we’ve documented thus far, include:

  • Investigation into allegations against Manual Principal Jerry Mayes.
  • PTA, SBDM and JCTA elections, bylaws and practices favoring JCPS administration, not members/stakeholders.
    • (2023) Jacob Elementary (White principal finally giving in to requests from Black mother to start the PTA. When it’s time for elections, teachers are recruited to run against Black parents, Black mothers are forced to run against one another)
    • (2019) Crums Lane Elementary (White principal favored White teachers and forced out engaged Black parents, 15th District PTA participated in fraudulent election, employees violated Redbook policy)
    • (2019) 15th District PTA Board Elections – (White parent and non-parent leaders pitted Black parents against one another, gave favored candidates preferential treatment, violated their own policies, held controlled and illegal membership meeting to change policies to prevent “from the floor candidates” from being eligible to serve if elected, and so much more, even admitted to committing fraud in future meeting)
    • (2020) Better Schools Kentucky Botched Election – pitted Black teachers against one another for rare at-large openings instead of nominating them for one of a dozen standing seats controlled by the president, tried to explain away numerous anomalies for their botched election results before finally admitting error, manipulating their bylaws in the favor of their preferred candidate, ruling the previous election invalid so they could hold a new one in a scenario where they could have more control and influence over results, in order to ensure their preferred candidate was the ultimate winner.
    • (2016) Maupin Elementary (SBDM manipulated by district leaders into voting to approve the superintendent’s recommendation AFTER she had already notified the state the decision had been made)
    • And several other examples of a handful of white leaders misstating facts, changing rules, policies and bylaws to suit the agenda of those in power and favor continued power of their preferred candidates (or no one at all) over BIPOC and their allies.
  • Fraudulent discontinuation of board-approved programs in West Louisville schools
    • Academy @ Shawnee Grades K-12 (discontinued before it started) 
    • Academy @ Shawnee middle school magnet (corrupted within two years)
    • Waldorf-styled program at Maupin Elementary (SBDM told how to vote after state had been notified).
    • Challenger Center at Shawnee (out-of-date data used to justify outsourcing operations)
  • Wrongful retaliation against Maupin educators, parents/guardians, students, and their advocates.

Some of the discriminatory practices we’ve documented include:

  • Failure to oversee and curtail outside organizations’ role in perpetuating systemic racism, despite repeated requests.
  • Biased and dead-ended internal investigations process.
  • Shutting out, silencing or derailing voices of grassroots organizations demanding racial equity.
  • Retaliation against those who blow the whistle on civil rights violations as well as waste, fraud and abuse.
  • Fraudulent elections including giving an unfair advantage to white or white-favored candidates, declaring fair elections “invalid” so they can run them again more carefully controlled, changing rules if necessary, and declaring winners using secretive, proprietary tools that only they have full access to.
  • Flat out denial that they are doing anything wrong! Refusal to fix or acknowledge even the most glaring examples. Keep repeating the same harmful behaviors. No wonder things have gotten this bad.

Toxic, bully, racist administrators

  • Admins who back their direct reports, no matter what, including helping them avoid consequences for behaviors unbecoming of a JCPS employee.
  • Biased internal investigations, fraud, changing the rules, gaming the system.
  • Rigged internal elections of support organizations (PTA, SBDM, JCTA, AROS) and undemocratic decision-making.
  • Shutting down and out engaged parents and employees who bring solutions, good ideas, and raise concerns when necessary.
  • How can we blame parents when the district refuses to let them in?
  • Willful incompetence or obliviousness, refusing to acknowledge classic behaviors of organized crime, coverups and racism, therefore nothing ever improves.
  • Shit rolls downhill, so lowest ranking employees end up taking the brunt of leaders’ poor decision-making, decreasing recruitment and retention of new employees.
  • How can we expect our children exhibit behaviors when adults in charge refuse to model them?

Other reports of criminal behavior

  • Denial of due process, refusal to accept grievances
  • Altering transcripts
  • Disciplining/suspending students from bus or school without due process or proper record keeping
  • Election tampering, including changing school district boundaries to affect candidates’ eligibility and plotting and scheming to influence the outcome of the tax increase ballot measure on technicalities, without accountability.
  • Failing to provide students with disabilities their mandated instructional hours and support services, covering it up, retaliating.
  • Covering up sex, drugs and human trafficking rings involving minors.
  •  

We are working on a list of demands, which includes an outside audit of internal investigations, lawsuits and settlements, as well as an oversight committee that is similar to the one that was created by the legislature for oversight of LMPD. We need an equivalent of an Inspector General and Civilian Oversight Committee for JCPS. We, the people, demand an avenue for checks and balances to protect against abuses like these within our government. Dear JCPS welcomes the opportunity to continue to build and share our understanding of what the community’s vision of that looks like.

This post will be updated. If you have examples of these events occurring in JCPS that you wish to have us consider adding to this list, please email moderator@dearjcps.com or text 502-565-8397.

Accountability

Proposed JCTA bylaws changes make “witchhunts” easier, among other things.

jcpswatch

Jefferson County Teachers’ Association leadership has put together some proposed changes to their bylaws. These changes appear to include language that will make it easier for the status quo to hold on to their power and silence anyone who dare speak up.

These tactics are eerily similar to those employed by the 15th District (Jefferson County) PTA two years ago when Black, Brown and BIPOC-allied JCPS parents asked their elected School Board and National PTA to intervene after dues-paying members’ efforts to try to hold their entrenched white leadership accountable were unsuccessful. The entire litany of PTA infractions can be found here. The text of the proposed JCTA Bylaws changes can be found here.

You might also enjoy:

“Duty of Obedience” in JCPS Organizations’ Bylaws Promotes “Pattern or Practice” of Discrimination

Accountability, Privatization of Public Education, Standardized Testing

Dear Goldilocks, Enjoy This Week’s Podcast

jcpswatch

I know you’re busy, and there’s an overload of information out there, so I tried to take what I think you need to know about public education in Jefferson County, Kentucky this week and cram it into our weekly 59-minute podcast. But because 59 minutes is still a HUGE commitment, I coupled it with a 4-minute teaser and an 23-minute take-out, so you can be like Goldilocks and find the portion that’s “just right” for your appetite and schedule.

Here’s the 4-minute teaser. Even if you end up listening to the entire podcast, I think this snip is worth hearing more than once.

Here’s the video of what I thought were the most telling snips from the KET 2021 Legislative Recap, complete with video, which make up the first 23 minutes of the podcast.

Fierce and ready with the facts, House Rep. Angie Hatton keeps forked-tongued Damon Thayer in his place while everyone’s favorite Senator Morgan McGarvey says what everyone wants to hear. Unshaven Steve Rudy appeared to be a last-minute stand in.

Here’s the entire 59-minute podcast, featuring audio from our 2018 and 2019 archives, along with an actual photo from the day’s events, just to keep it real. 

Also, added a little treat for those who make it all the way to the end. 😉