Jefferson County Public Schools
May 2012 Feb.-Mar. 2013
Technology program teaches more than digital devices (page 2)
PRP team creates awardwinning campaign to fight depression (page 4) Are you as smart as a JCPS middle schooler? (page 7) JCPS soon will be completely tobacco-free (page 8)
www.jcpsky.net Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer Offering Equal Educational Opportunities
Technology program teaches more than digital devices Crums Lane students Vashawn Anderson and Zylena Stephens demonstrate AppSK US, which provides previews of apps for teachers and parents.
STLP students learn leadership, community service, and communication skills Crums Lane Elementary students created AppSK US!—a project that includes videos about apps. Teachers and parents can watch the videos to get previews of what the apps do. Crosby Middle students developed Speak with Your Hands, a project that uses videos, digital dictionaries, and other technologies to encourage people to learn American Sign Language. At Meyzeek Middle, students created Tools for Teachers, which shows educators the best ways to use iPhones for instructional purposes. 2
Meyzeek students also developed Smart Technology Learning Possibilities, a project that explores innovative applications for SMART Boards—the digital white boards used in many Jefferson County Public School (JCPS) District classrooms.
individual capabilities; to motivate all students; and to create leadership opportunities through the use of technology.”
All of these projects were created in the Student Technology Leadership Program (STLP). Established in 1994 by the STLP State Advisory Council, the program’s mis- Renee Hinojos shows the steps involved in sion is “to advance developing AppSK US.
Students are encouraged to develop projects in one of three categories: • Community service: projects that extend beyond the classroom to benefit the community • Instructional: projects that benefit classroom instruction and support child or adult learning • Technical expertise: projects that focus on specific hardware or software—or on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) topics STLP is offered throughout JCPS. Caitlin Waldeck, a Crosby Middle eighth grader who has been involved with STLP since she was a Farmer Elementary third grader, says she joined the program because “I like to experiment with many different types of technology.” Crosby’s STLP coordinator, Rodney Jenkins, says
Crosby Middle students Savannah Clarkson, Caitlin Waldeck, and Nathanial Ruhs demonstrate their project at the STLP Showcase.
the program also offers students many unique opportunities to “use the technologies they learn at school in real-world applications.” The Speak with Your Hands project, for instance, lets students connect their interest in technology and their STLP work with advocacy for the deaf. Jenkins says STLP also teaches students the most effective ways to organize and present information, and, because it lets students plan and manage projects themselves, it truly develops leadership skills.
Ugonna Okorie explains Smart Technology Learning Possibilities to a showcase visitor.
Students from 14 JCPS schools participated in the STLP Fall Showcase at the University of Louisville (UofL). Overall, the showcase drew more
than 500 students from 41 schools in 7 districts. Students at the following JCPS schools were selected to progress from the showcase to the STLP State Championship: Bloom Elementary, Crums Lane Elementary (two teams), Farmer Elementary, Kennedy Montessori Elementary, Olmsted Academy South, Roosevelt-Perry Elementary, Crosby Middle, Farnsley Middle, Meyzeek Middle (three teams), Atherton High, Doss High, and Eastern High (two teams). Students also may qualify for the state competition by submitting projects online for Winter Virtual Judging. It began in January, and schools will find out later this month if their students qualified. Overall, about 3,500 students from 300 schools will participate in the State Championship, which will be held on Thurs., Mar. 28, at the Lexington Convention Center and Rupp Arena.
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PRP team creates award-winning PRP Creative, a team of six Pleasure Ridge Park High students, won the top prize in the Thirteenth Annual High School Marketing Challenge Competition, which was sponsored in the fall by the American Advertising Federation–Louisville as well as Humana and PNC Bank.
Students at several schools competed in the challenge by creating marketing campaigns that spotlight the dangers of—and possible solutions for—teen depression. PRP Creative developed a social media campaign on Twitter, Facebook, tumblr, and YouTube. They also created posters, print ads, and a Web site.
The six PRP students coordinated support from other students, administrators, and the school’s talented Step Team to create a flash mob that spread the campaign’s message during lunch in the school’s cafeteria. (Click here to watch a video of the flash mob.)
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campaign to fight teen depression PRP Creative received a Marketing Challenge trophy and $800—as well as the attention of marketing professionals throughout the region. Students at Southern High, the Academy @ Shawnee, and Fern Creek Traditional High also earned awards in the competition.
PRP Creative is Kelly Hasselbach, Trevor Gibson, Taylor Gray, Brittany Auvil, Malik Alleyne-Jones, and Sydney Doyle.
The students’ advisor is PRP graphic design and photography teacher Denise Webb.
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PTA offers scholarship for seniors High school seniors are encouraged to apply for the 15th District Parent Teacher Association (PTA) Evangeline J. Sansome Scholarship, which is applicable to almost any type of training or schooling necessary to prepare for a career. It’s a need-based scholarship. Applicants must need financial assistance to go to college. They also must have a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.7, and they must be members of their school’s PTA or Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA). The value of the scholarship will be determined in April. Last year, the PTA was able to provide 16 scholarships worth $1,700 each. The application deadline is Fri., Mar. 29. More information and an application form are available here. More information also is available from senior counselors at JCPS high schools.
JCPS wants to hear from you You can help shape the future of JCPS by completing the 2012-13 Comprehensive School Survey. District administrators rely on input from parents to identify needs and develop strategies that ensure success for every student. This year, you can complete the survey through the new Data Management Survey Tool (DMST). If you have a JCPS Parent Portal Account, you’ll receive a link to
the online survey, which will be available through Fri., Feb 22. If you don’t have online access, you still can complete the paper version of the survey, which will be sent home from your child’s school. Your opinions are important to us, and the district values your input. For more information, contact your child’s principal or counselor.
Mark your calendar February ���� Black History Month
Mar. 7 ���������� 15th District PTA Vendors Fair
Feb. 25 �������� Make-up day (Students will go to school to make-up for the day they missed on Feb. 1.)
Mar. 9 ���������� SAT testing
Feb. 26– Mar. 1 ���������� Potential make-up days Mar. 1 ���������� Parent-Teacher Conference Day (Note: Some schools may not hold conferences on this day.) Mar. 5 ���������� Statewide ACT for high school juniors 6
Apr. 1–5 ������ Spring Break Please note: The potential make-up days will be used if school is cancelled because of bad weather or other emergencies. If these days aren’t used as make-up days, schools may offer remediation or enrichment activities for some students. If no activities are scheduled, students will not attend school on these days. Contact your child’s school for more information.
Are you as smart as a JCPS middle schooler? The answers to the eleventh-grade social studies questions in the last issue of Parent Connection are 1: D, 2: D, 3: C. To review the questions, click here. The first parent to send the correct answers was Steve Mattingly, father of a student at Highland Middle. Other winners were Anuradha Jagatheesan (Eastern High) and Thomas Sermon (St. Matthews Elementary and Kammerer Middle). This month, Parent Connection offers a quick quiz with sixth- and seventhgrade math questions. (The first question is a sixth-grade question. The others are seventh-grade questions.). The first three parents who send the correct answers to the Parent Connection office via e-mail and the first three who send the answers via regular mail will receive a free JCPS T-shirt. Please include the name of your child’s (or grandchild’s) school. Click here to send the answers via email. The regular mailing address is Thomas Pack, Communications and Publications North, C. B. Young Jr. Service Center, Building 4, 3001 Crittenden Drive, Louisville, KY 40209. You don’t need to write the questions or answers. Just send the question numbers and the letters for your answers. Or you may print out this quiz and mail it.
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Parent to parent:
JCPS soon will be completely tobacco-free To ensure a healthy learning environment, the members of the Jefferson County Board of Education (JCBE) voted unanimously on Nov. 26 to approve a new tobacco-free policy for JCPS. For many years, the district has prohibited smoking and other forms of tobacco use by students. They aren’t allowed to even possess or carry tobacco products on district property. The new policy, which will go into effect on Mon., July 1, 2013, will apply to everyone, including JCPS employees and parents. No one will be allowed to smoke cigarettes or use any other tobacco products anywhere on JCPS property, in district vehicles, or at JCPS events. The policy will be in effect 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This 100 percent tobaccofree policy will ensure that students aren’t exposed
to second-hand smoke, a leading trigger of asthma attacks (and asthma is one of the top reasons that students miss school). The policy also will support health lessons taught in JCPS classrooms, and it will prepare students for workplaces with tobacco-free policies. In addition, a comprehensive policy may reduce the number of teens who smoke outside of school. Studies show that schools with tobacco-free policies have 40 percent fewer youth smokers than those without one. The new JCPS policy may even reduce the number of Louisvillians who smoke in the future. Research indicates that 90 percent of people who don’t smoke before they turn 18 will not start smoking later in life.
The policy also will ensure that adults model a tobacco-free lifestyle on JCPS property. When students see adults smoking, they think it’s okay for them to smoke too—no matter how often we tell them it’s dangerous. The Kentucky Department for Public Health points out that “we cannot send mixed signals [by allowing adults to smoke] in our learning environments. In order to be effective, there must be no exceptions.” Sincerely,
Donna M. Hargens, Ed. D. JCPS Superintendent 8
Free classes help smokers kick the habit The Louisville Department of Public Health and Wellness and the Kentucky Cancer Program offer free stop-smoking classes. They include 12 one-hour weekly sessions and relapse prevention. At most classes, materials and nicotine replacement products as well as the classes themselves are free, but registration is required. Call 574-STOP (7867) or send an e-mail to stopsmoking@louisvilleky.gov with your name, phone number, home address, and e-mail address. Indicate the class you want to attend. The start dates are listed below. • Mar. 5: Tuesdays, 11 a.m. to 12 noon, Family Health
Center Portland, 2215 Portland Ave. • Mar. 27: Wednesdays, 1 to 2 p.m., Bates Community Development Corp., 1228 S. Jackson St. • Apr. 2: Tuesdays, 12 noon to 1 p.m., Transit Authority of River City (TARC), 1000 W. Broadway • Apr. 4: Thursdays, 12 noon to 1 p.m., Sts. Mary & Elizabeth Hospital, Assembly Room, 1850 Bluegrass Ave. • Apr. 9: Tuesdays, 5 to 6 p.m., Sullivan University College of Pharmacy, 2100 Gardiner Ln., Sullivan University Training Center Room • Apr. 11: Thursdays, 6 to 7 p.m., Family Health Center Portland, 2215 Portland Ave.
• Apr. 18: Thursdays, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., Sun Valley Community Center, 6505 Bethany Ln. • Apr. 22: Mondays, 11 a.m. to 12 noon, Family Health Center Portland, 2215 Portland Ave. • May 17: Fridays, 12 noon to 1 p.m., Kentucky Cancer Program, James Graham Brown Cancer Center, Resource Center, 529 S. Jackson St., 1st Floor More classes will be available as we get closer to the date that JCPS implements the new tobacco-free policy (July 1). Information on additional classes will be available on the Health Department Web site and the JCPS Web site.
Learn more to earn more
Did you know that high school graduates or adults with a General Educational Development (GED) Certificate earn an average of $7,827 more a year than nongraduates? Free GED and skill-building classes are available throughout Louisville. For more information, call 485-3400 or visit www.adulted4u.com.
Your PTA: there’s strength in numbers
Don’t forget to join the PTA or PTSA at your child’s school. The power of these organizations is in the strength of their memberships. Every additional member adds clout and enhances the learning environment for all students.
Are you getting the e-mail newsletter?
Parent Connection eNews is a JCPS newsletter that offers new, brief articles in a monthly e-mail. You can view the latest issue and sign up for future ones on the Parent Connection Web site. 9
Boosting self-esteem for children with disabilities Some children who have disabilities are prone to having feelings of low self-esteem. Here are some ways to build confidence: • Give your child opportunities to solve problems and make decisions. For example, you could work with your child to develop a homework schedule. Discuss the pros and cons of different schedules, and let your child take the lead in creating the final one. Children have more self-esteem when they feel they have control and ownership of things in their lives. • Give your child many opportunities to contribute to family life. For instance, you could ask your child to help plan dinner menus or family activities. Tell your child that the family needs his or her help and that the contributions are appreciated. • Make sure your child doesn’t feel defeated by mistakes. Children with disabilities are sometimes more vulnerable to feeling like a “failure.” Help your child understand that everyone makes mistakes and that they offer a chance to grow. Discuss times when you struggled with something and made mistakes. Children also need to understand that they aren’t defined by their disability or the mistakes they may make. They are defined by the strengths and the interests that make them a unique person. Source: the JCPS Exceptional Child Education (ECE) Department—Phone: 485-8500 Web: www.jcpsky.net/Programs/ECE/index.html 10
Vision 2015:
Strategies to increase parent and community involvement The JCPS Strategic Plan: Vision 2015 includes goals in four focus areas: Increased Learning; Graduation and Beyond; Stakeholder Involvement/Engagement; and Safe, Resourced, and Equipped Schools. Each issue of Parent Connection highlights the strategies that the district is using to meet one of the goals or the measures it is using to track success. This month, the focus is on Goal 3. To read the complete strategic plan, click here. Focus Area: Stakeholder involvement/engagement Goal: Parents, community, and partners enrich students’ educational experiences and support their success. Strategies: • Design aligned, data-driven, and sustainable planning processes to provide a coherent focus in order to achieve the vision of the Board of Education. Align the Comprehensive District Improvement Plan (CDIP) and Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (CSIP) with the Strategic Plan and ensure deep implementation of these strategies so that they impact the work on each student’s desk. • Increase the number of out-ofschool hours spent by students scoring at the Novice and Apprentice levels in reading, math, science, social studies, writing, ACT, and end-of-course subjects (Biology, Algebra II, English II, and U.S. History), including using such technological tools as SuccessMaker and Study Island. • Increase the number of communitybased opportunities/experiences to
support student learning, including service learning, the arts, and enrichment experiences. Increase the use of the Parent Portal.
• Think big! Plan with parents, teachers, administrators, and community stakeholders, and seek support and funding for major initiatives that will impact student learning. Design community engagement—“a movement” around increased learning time—that includes tracking family activities that support learning. (Audit action 9.9) • Collaborate with the PTA, the Jefferson County Teachers Association (JCTA), the Jefferson County Association of School Administrators (JCASA), community organizations, and institutions of higher education to increase the “concerted cultivation mindset” among parents in the community so that they become our partners in the “educational cultivation” of our children. • Increase the quality of teacher training and learning interventions by increasing the number of partnerships between our higher-education partners and specific schools. • Build capacity for schools to develop Professional Learning Communities with cohorts of teachers and administrators who share a collective vision for and shared ownership of achievement for each child. • Celebrate learning—the successes of our students as well as the contributions of teachers, administrators, parents, and community stakeholders. 11
Atherton students earn state honor for diversity video Members of an Atherton High speech and debate class earned the top award in the fourth annual Governor’s Diversity Day Video Project. Diversity Day is a program “that seeks to raise diversity awareness and cultural competency among Kentucky’s elementary, middle, and high school students,” according to the state Office of Diversity & Equality. The video competition challenged students “to organize and present their thoughts on this year’s
theme, ‘Working Together.’” Atherton student Daja Jones served as the principal director for the award -winning video, First Impressions. Riley Fitzgerald was the principal editor. The students’ advisor was Atherton teacher Tony Prince.
Teachers win national Intellectual Freedom Award English teachers Martha Brennan at Waggener High and Rebecca Slagle at Jeffersontown High were named winners of the 2012 Intellectual Freedom Award by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)/
Support for the Learning and Teaching of English (SLATE). During the 2011-12 school year, two English electives were offered at Waggener. Brennan taught Hip-Hop Literacies. Slagle taught Urban Fiction. The two classes collaborated to produce From the Hood to the Halls: A Survival Guide to Hip-Hop Culture. This guide includes advice on navigating issues that many youths experience. Brennan and Slagle were nominated for the National Intellectual Freedom Award by the Kentucky Council of Teachers of English. They received the award in the fall during the annual NCTE Convention in Las Vegas. A transcript from the awards ceremony includes the following: “Teaching— real teaching—means creating a safe environment for all students to express themselves. Teaching—real teaching—therefore, means creating a safe place for students who have seen violence, for students who know abuse and poverty, and for students who live lives beyond the safety of our classrooms and our adult culture.
Clinton Morris, from the Kentucky Office of Diversity & Equality, presents a plaque to Daja Jones, Riley Fitzgerald, and Tony Prince. 12
“We do not always agree with what students say or with how they say it, but all
students deserve teachers who create safe spaces for such expression. Tonight’s SLATE recipients did just that ....”
Bates educator named Kentucky’s PE Teacher of the Year
and Poverty Programs is the winner of the G. Pritchy Smith Multicultural Educator Award. It honors Burton’s three decades of work in the field.
Brooklawn educator named outstanding teacher
Billie Stone, fitness teacher at Bates Elementary, was Beth Guthrie, a teacher selected as the 2012 Elat Brooklawn School, was ementary Physical Educanamed Outstanding Teacher tion Teacher of the Year by the Kentucky Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance. Stone was honored in the fall at an awards banquet at the Galt House. In the photo below, she stands beside Scott Gerlach of Oldham County, the 2012 Secondary Physical Education Teacher of the Year. When Gerlach was a UofL student, Stone was his field work supervisor.
Aukram Burton in the JCPS Office of Diversity, Equity,
Contact the Parent Connection editor, Thomas Pack, at 485-6315 or at thomas.pack@jefferson. kyschools.us.
Watch out for the second-semester slump Have you heard of the senior slump? It’s when seniors who worked hard during the first half of the school year decide it’s time to take it easy. They’ve already sent in their college applications, and they think the remaining months just aren’t that important. Parents of seniors may want to remind them that all classes are important and that some universities have even withdrawn admission offers from students who suddenly start getting low grades or who drop college-prep courses.
Staff member receives national multicultural education award
of the Year by the Kentucky Educational Collaborative for State Agency Children. Guthrie was honored during the Alternative Strategies for Educating Students AtRisk Conference, which was held at Eastern Kentucky University.
But the slump doesn’t just affect seniors. Students at any grade level might feel like it’s just not as important to study as hard as they did during the first semester. Here are a few tips for helping your child avoid the slump.
• Tell him or her that now is a good time to think about both short- and long-term goals. Explain how hard work throughout the school year lays a foundation that will help him or her reach those goals. • Make sure your child has solid time-management and organizational skills. For instance, make sure your child knows how to create a homework schedule, set priorities for assignments, and use a printed or digital calendar to track them. • Tell your child that it always takes effort to make good grades. • If your child is a freshman, sophomore, or junior, remind him or her that high school grades are cumulative. Some seniors now wish they had worked harder when they were underclassmen. 13
Next year’s calendar JEFFERSON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
School Calendar 2013-14
First and Last Days for Students
AUGUST MON TUE
8/20, 6/4*
*6/4 will be the last day of school unless there are days to be made up. Inclement weather may alter the school calendar, grading periods, and report card distribution dates.
First and Last Days for Teachers (No School for Students) ................................8/16, 6/5
No School for Students Labor Day ................................................................9/2 Thanksgiving Break ...................................11/27–11/29 Winter Break .................................................12/23–1/3 Martin Luther King Jr. Day .....................................1/20 Spring Break ...................................................3/31–4/4 Primary Election Day..............................................5/20 Memorial Day .........................................................5/26 Professional-Development Days .........10/4, 10/7, 10/8, 11/11, 2/24, 2/25, 5/2
Make-Up Days for Students Missed school days will be made up in the following order: 2/26, 2/27, 2/28, 6/5, 6/6, 6/9, 6/10, 6/11, 6/12, 6/13. If 2/26, 2/27, and 2/28 are not used as make-up days, individual schools will decide whether to use those days to host enrichment activities for some students or to have a no-school day for all students.
Parent-Teacher Conferences Conferences will be scheduled on the following dates: 10/8, 2/24.
5 12 19 26
6 13 20 27
WED THU
1 8 15 22 29
2 9 16 23 30
WED THU
FRI
7 14 21 28
SEPTEMBER MON TUE
2 9 16 23 30
3 10 17 24
4 11 18 25
5 12 19 26
6 13 20 27
WED THU
FRI
OCTOBER MON TUE
7 14 21 28
1 8 15 22 29
2 9 16 23 30
3 10 17 24 31
4 11 18 25
WED THU
FRI
NOVEMBER MON TUE
4 11 18 25
5 12 19 26
7 14 21 28
1 8 15 22 29
WED THU
FRI
6 13 20 27
DECEMBER MON TUE
2 9 16 23 30
3 10 17 24 31
FRI
4 11 18 25
5 12 19 26
6 13 20 27
JANUARY MON TUE
6 13 20 27
7 14 21 28
1 8 15 22 29
MON TUE
3 10 17 24
4 11 18 25
MARCH
MON TUE
3 10 17 24 31
4 11 18 25
APRIL
MON TUE
7 14 21 28
1 8 15 22 29
MAY
MON TUE
5 12 19 26
6 13 20 27
MON TUE
2 9 16 23 30
3 10 17 24
FRI
2 9 16 23 30
3 10 17 24 31
WED THU
FRI
FEBRUARY
JUNE
Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer Offering Equal Educational Opportunities
WED THU
5 12 19 26
6 13 20 27
7 14 21 28
WED THU
FRI
5 12 19 26
6 13 20 27
7 14 21 28
WED THU
FRI
2 9 16 23 30
3 10 17 24
4 11 18 25
WED THU
FRI
1 8 15 22 29
2 9 16 23 30
WED THU
FRI
7 14 21 28 4 11 18 25
5 12 19 26
6 13 20 27
www.jcpsky.net