Jefferson County Public School (Louisville, Wilder: house, neighborhood, elementary schools)

[cici67]

We are planning on moving to Louisville this year and would like to have our child attend public school. We are aware of the choice program in the Jefferson County Public Schools and the fact it is under review by the Supreme Court.

All that aside, we are still planning to try to make the elementary school choice deadline by March 1st. Anyone have any opinion about Dunn, Norton, or other elementary schools in those clusters? How about the traditional schools? Like everyone else hopes for their kids: we would like a strong academic program (advanced program), involved parents, etc. Any thoughts on how to make this work? Would we better off using our neighborhood school (wherever we move) so that our children could make neighborhood friends? Or should we aim for a "better" school in the district or a traditional school?

Thanks for any advice you can provide.

[snm77]

Welcome to Louisville! If you are looking into Dunn and Norton Elementary for your kids, that gives me a vague idea about where you are wanting to settle. Both were fine schools when I was growing up in that part of the Jefferson County (referred to as the "East End"). Unless you are already settled on a house, there are a few other elementary schools within the same area that were good when I was younger, including Wilder and Zachary Taylor.

As for the Supreme Court case currently in the news- it isn't about "choice program"- it's about "bussing" (as it is commonly referred to here). Jefferson County has been "bussing" students since the 70's. This was the school board's attempt to give all children access to quality education so that the schools in the poorer sections of town did not stagnate. This also was a way to force schools to not be segragated by race- currently each school is mandated to have 15-50% of their student body be minority children. Because of this, children were sent not to their neighborhood schools, but all over to achieve racial balance. Within the last decade, JCPS (Jefferson County Public Schools) now has what are "clusters" for the elementary schools. This means that based on your address, you have 5-6 elementary schools to "pick" from, provided that the schools still maintain their racial balance. So, for instance, if you pick Dunn Elementary, but there is enough room for your children without throwing off the balance, the school board can tell you "no, pick a second choice". However, the good thing is that you have a broader option for your kids. The closest elementary school to my house is NOT the one I wanted for my kids. However, by having "clusters", I was able to pick a school 1 1/2 miles further from my home that is dramatically better. The Supreme Court case is over the fact that a family wanted to send their child to a specific school and the board said "no" because it would throw off the balance. Now, if her child had been another race, the child probably would have been able to go there. The case is about discrimination based on race and possibly doing away with the "bussing", declaring it unconstitutional. Not sure which way it's going to go, but it is history in the making!

Hope this helps.

[missymomof3]

My kids are in the traditional program and have been in the regular program as well. The traditional program is tougher and faster paced. The kids are expected to be responsible and the CATS test scores are consistently high( at least at Carter, Johnson and Butler where my kids will go). I highly prefer the traditional program over the regular personally.

[Off Topic]

Originally Posted by missymomof3

I highly prefer the traditional program over the regular personally.

I agree - if I had kids, I'd want them in the traditional program.

[missymomof3]

I won't mention the school but when my kids were in the regular program, there were never taught how to tell time on a standard clock. I only had digital so it never occurred to me. When I found out I bought standard clocks to teach them with.It completely blew my mind ! My neice, however, is in the 2nd grade in jeffersonville, IN and has learned to tell time on a standard clock.