Considering Louisville For Teaching (St. Matthews, Bardstown: rentals, condos, loans)

[quarterback2213]

I have been there once and I enjoyed myself. Stayed at the Brown (Hot Brown). Anyways, I am a Special Education Teacher that just finished my Masters. They are going to be at a job fair in April that I will be attending and I am very interested. Would love to get some Ville' takes.

Quick tidbits:
30 Year old male
Single/no kids




1. I have read a lot about this lottery system, and honestly as a teacher I am not all that scared off by it. I do however see it being an issue with the parents which I am sure teachers have to deal with this somehow.

2. Is the city a good place for a single 30 year old? I am not into the bar scene too much really, but would like some night life that is not filled with 18 year olds.

3. If I were to work in the city, is it better to live in the city or drive in?

4. Any teachers on here that can talk about their experience teaching in the district?

5. Is Louisville a "southern" type of city?

Anything else you feel to throw in would be appreciated as well.

[Ryan2099]

I can't give you any advice on being a teacher here, but I will let you know about the JCPS(Jefferson County Public Schools). It's been in the newspaper and on TV about how bad they are performing and some of the schools being audited and teachers being replaced and now the whole busing issue is coming back.

With you being a Special Education teacher I don't know how much if any this will affect you finding a job but the JCPS system is in turmoil right now. I wish I had better news to give you.

I know this post didn't answer any of your questions you asked but I thought you should know about the situation with the schools right now. The link below is to the Courier Journal. It's the major local newspaper here in Louisville. Search through it and it will tell you about whats going on.

courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal | Louisville news, community, entertainment, yellow pages and classifieds. Serving Louisville, KY

[The Dissenter]

Originally Posted by quarterback2213

I have been there once and I enjoyed myself. Stayed at the Brown (Hot Brown). Anyways, I am a Special Education Teacher that just finished my Masters. They are going to be at a job fair in April that I will be attending and I am very interested. Would love to get some Ville' takes.

Quick tidbits:
30 Year old male
Single/no kids




1. I have read a lot about this lottery system, and honestly as a teacher I am not all that scared off by it. I do however see it being an issue with the parents which I am sure teachers have to deal with this somehow.

2. Is the city a good place for a single 30 year old? I am not into the bar scene too much really, but would like some night life that is not filled with 18 year olds.

3. If I were to work in the city, is it better to live in the city or drive in?

4. Any teachers on here that can talk about their experience teaching in the district?

5. Is Louisville a "southern" type of city?

Anything else you feel to throw in would be appreciated as well.

1. Can't help you. All I can say is that I'm not a fan of it.

2. Yes, in my opinion.. I think you would like visiting the Highlands often.

3. Definitely live in the city. Next week, I'll be doing a 40 mile commute into the city from the exurbs. Thankfully my work location is not very far into the city. I would definitely live inside the city and try to get a reverse commute to your job.

4. Can't help you.

5. Keep in mind that I'm actually a transplant from Virginia which some consider Mid-Atlantic rather than Southern. Louisville to me has a mix of Southern and Midwestern feeling.

[C.Bekah]

Welcome.
There have been a small group of people who have complained heavily about JCPS. It has gotten a lot of attention and many people have not read the facts. The good majority of people are actual very pleased with the public schools here. Parents are able to choose four possible schools for their child to attend (this is out of some 150'ish schools) and nearly all those children get into their first or second choice schools and choose to re-enroll their children into that school the following year. We also have several magnet schools which offer some really great opportunities. With schools like Lowe Elementary, Brown, Noe Middle School, Manuel High School, ect...we have a lot to be proud of. Most of the complaints come from parents who did get register their children before the deadline and therefore their child was placed at either their resides school or at another opening. With so many schools, we do have a couple of bad apples which have been getting re-evaluated to better their performance. You have to take the complaints with a grain of salt and realize that with so many schools, there is something for everyone and you'll find that most people here appreciate the teachers a lot and their schools.
You'll find many of the schools go on a lot of field trips and the teachers are very close-knit within their schools. It really feels like a family. Also, I moved from Ohio and the salary here is about $10,000 more a year and they paid off some big school loans on top of that. You get great job stability and one of the best things is that if you decide at the end of the year that you would like to try working at a different JCPS school, you can apply for a transfer. If you don't get the transfer, you still have your other job and or can apply to transfer to a different school.
While there are a few struggling schools, the perk of working at one of those is that it looks great to the best performing schools. However, I know teachers (and have experience!) who have started teaching at the lowest, middle, and highest performing schools and have been very happy being a part of JCPS. You meet a lot of great parents and a lot of inspiring students. Students really like having the opportunity to choose between a traditional school, liberal arts school, magnet program, ect..including the special needs students.
I think one of the most amazing things Ive seen at JCPS is how the students react to the special needs children. Ive really seen them be taken in by them and treat them like family. Its pretty special.
We are not into the bar scene either but my husband and I fell in love with this city. There is so much to do...great restaurants with every food type you can think of, music, arts, museums, shopping, concerts, parks, sports, festivals, you name it! Teachers get discounts at a few great attractions as well and even get in free to places like the history museum and many rentals offer discounts to you as well. (it adds up!) We moved around a bit and then fell in love with living in St. Matthews. Its quiet but close to everything an walkable.
Good luck with whatever you choose to do!

[tomocox]

JCPS has the best Special Education system!!! Point-Fact-Absolute!!! It has the worst student assignment system in America. Can the two systems co-exist for you? "Dem's da fax, mam!"

[Off Topic]

2. Yes. An excellent scene for 20's and 30's in almost every area - sports, bars, restaurants, nature, culture, etc.

3. Probably best to live in a nearby neighborhood like Bardstown Road. But it could be really cool to live downtown and there are a bunch of great condos if you are interested in buying.

5. Enough southern flavor without being too southern. We're actually somewhat of a conglomeration of north, south and midwest.

[Orgetorix]

Originally Posted by Off Topic

5. Enough southern flavor without being too southern. We're actually somewhat of a conglomeration of north, south and midwest.

I always tell people Louisville is the place that, whatever region you're from, Louisville is not that. If you're a southerner, Louisville is not the south. If you're a northerner, Louisville is not the north. If you're a Midwesterner, Louisville is not the midwest. Etc.

[rbryant]

Originally Posted by tomocox

JCPS has the best Special Education system!!! Point-Fact-Absolute!!! It has the worst student assignment system in America. Can the two systems co-exist for you? "Dem's da fax, mam!"

Amen Tom. 30 plus years and counting. If nothing else, I owe my parents a big Thank You for pulling us out of that cesspool and moving out to OC. The supporters of JCPS usually have an AP student at Manual, JTown, perhaps Ballard. And then there's everyone else, and God forbid your kid ends up assigned to Waggener or Southern, or the many other HS that underachieve in the JCPS.
Maybe things will get better now that Sheldon Berman is out. However, I'm sure they'll find another Liberal pollyanna that can circumvent the Supreme court ruling that found their assignment plan to be unconstitutional.
To the OP: consider Oldham County, Shelby County, New Albany-Floyd, even Greater Clark.
On a sidenote, Louisville is a fusion between the south and midwest. Wonderful city, and I'm always proud to call it my birthplace. However, JCPS is AWFUL.