Questions
Board Work Session — Strategic Focus of Divisions/Review of Formative Evaluation of the
Superintendent
Monday, January 7, 2013
11 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Are we, or do we, have a plan for scanning/digiting old student records? (Dewey Hensley)
We currently scan graduates and records for non-graduates, once they turn 21. That is part of
our archival process. Secondly, we are working on a project to scan current student records for
more efficient access and back-up recovery. This project is called SIMS (Student Imaging
Management System). This project is very costly. We are looking for ways to fund it.
Mike Raisor and his team will have a much better idea than I do about what we do in the long
run. It would seem that we need to consider several things—prioritizing the records and
scanning/deleting by phases; weeding out any documents we don’t need any longer or should
keep “hard copy”.

What is our disaster recovery plan regarding data? Do we have offsite/area backups? (
Michael Raisor)
Infinite Campus provides offsite disaster recovery and backups for the student information
system. Tyler Computing provides offsite disaster recovery and backups for the ERP system.
JCPS Data Center: A disaster recovery plan for the JCPS data center is in process. Offsite disaster
recovery is being explored for the JCPS data center. Backups are currently performed onsite in
the JCPS data center. Offsite backups are being considered in the planning process.
JCPS Infrastructure: Currently, the infrastructure environment at JCPS VanHoose Data Center
consists of approximately 250 Virtual Machine Servers using Microsoft Hyper V Windows 2008R
and Virtualized SAN Environment, with mix of SANS, with Brocade Fiber Switches and Dell Server
Blades and Chassis. There are approximately 50 Physical Servers that are a mixture of legacy
servers to be Virtualized and also server for Maintenance Servers for Specific applications for
System Monitoring, WSUS, File and Print servers, SCOM, SCCM, Domain Controllers, Cameras
and Security. We are 95% Virtualized in the VanHoose Data Center and approximately 85% in
the District. There is a mix of servers “mini IT scenarios” in the District we are bringing into the
Data Center as well, example Food Services. The Network LAN has several Nortel /Avaya
Network Switches that integrate to the JCPS WAN. All the Schools did have their own Servers
not covered under this plan and under our Digital Technology Department. The Schools Servers
are now being Virtualized and also brought into the SAN Environment, Currently at 57+ Servers
Virtualized and have weekly migrations at this point.
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JCPS Backup and Recovery:
http://www.symantec.com/content/en/us/enterprise/customer_successes/b-jefferson-countypublic-schools-CS.en-us.pdf
Currently, we use Symantec Netbackup to back up our Virtualized and Physical Server
environment. Policies are set in accordance to usage and space and we do use Symantec
Dedupilication. We currently Backup Files for Students and Files Servers, VHDs, SharePoint and
eventually Staff My Documents folders as well. All Backups at present are onsite at VanHoose
Data Center. Redgate is used by our SQL DBA for SQL Backups on a continuous schedule and
then backed up with Symantec Backup. Emerson Liebert 100KVA NX UPS offset from the Data
Center in the basement with approximately 78% load and 27 minute runtime. Installed
12/2/2011. Fire Suppression System with Novec 1230/Sapphire, Installed June 2011.
Cummins 1000 KW Diesel Generator with 72 hr. Fuel Supply backups the entire VanHoose
building in case of power loss, it starts after 11 seconds of Building Power Loss. Installed 9/2012
HVAC Liebert Cooling- 65Tons for Data Center-legacy and under PUE study, due for
replacement. Currently, we follow the Safety and Emergency Procedure Manual for JCPS dated
Spring 2009. We do have a Payroll DR Draft in place and BC/DR plan for the Data Center is work
in progress at this time with hiring of a new BC/DR person and please see DR Visio’s for Current,
Future and Near Future.

Do we have onsite electrical backups at our schools? (Michael Raisor)
Yes, regarding emergency lighting. All of our schools have emergency lighting provided by either
generator or battery backup. Emergency lighting is only provided to allow safe egress for
occupants, during times of darkness. Generators are not sized to operate the whole school
uninterrupted. Generators always operate emergency lighting and, in some cases, service is
extended to boilers, freezers, refrigerators, elevators, designated outlets, etc.

What has been the environmental impact of our new hybrid buses? (Michael Raisor)
Currently, we have 50 hybrid school buses in our fleet, which are averaging approximately one
and a half miles per gallon better fuel mileage. Our fuel consumption with hybrid buses has
improved from the fleet average of 7 mpg to 8.5 mpg, an increase of approximately 21%.
Theoretically, this would improve our Particulate Matter (soot) reduction from 98.75% to 99%
and our Nitrous Oxide (acid rain, smog and greenhouse gases) reduction from 98.24% to 98.6%,
when compared with 1988 levels.

What is the policy for use of personal autos for official JCPS business (AFSCME issue)?
(Cordelia Hardin)
Policy for use of personal auto for official JCPS business – Our Travel Guidelines allow for
reimbursement of mileage expense for official JCPS business. IRS guidelines, to which our
guidelines adhere, dictate what mileage is reimbursable and what reimbursement qualifies as
taxable income. We have a few other documents instructing employees in certain traveling
situations (for employees who choose to drive to a conference instead of fly or for itinerant
employees, for example). Lastly, we require that any employee using their personal automobile
for JCPS business must submit proof that they are insured.
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Here are the links:
— Travel Guidelines and other documents are found under the drop down box under Travel
Forms “choose a form” at the following link:
http://www.jefferson.k12.ky.us/Departments/FinancialServices/Travel.html
— JCPS employee auto insurance affidavit:
https://portal.jefferson.kyschools.us/InternalForms/autoInsAffidavitForm.pdf
— IRS Travel, Entertainment, Gift, and Car Expenses Publication 463:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p463.pdf

Do we use SharePoint or some other document management system? (Michael Raisor)
Yes, we use SharePoint. SharePoint is currently used for employee collaboration at the Central
Office and School levels. Not all schools are using SharePoint, however, out of 102 total site
collections in use, 68 are being used for school use and 34 are Central Office/Administrative
use. JCPS also uses a combination of Knowledge Lake and SharePoint as a document imaging
solution for student transcripts, inactive student records, miscellaneous employee documents
for Human Resources, Financial Services, Employee Relations, and Compliance and
Investigations. We currently have over 610,000 documents stored in the document imaging
system. Computer Education Support has created SharePoint training resources for employees
to learn the basics of SharePoint, as well as the administrative side of SharePoint for site
collection owners.

How will the new academic organizational structure be evaluated? (Bob Rodosky and Dewey
Hensley)
Bob Rodosky - To answer the question, I would start with this question, “Why did we change the
organization in the first place?” I believe our district’s goal was changed to 1) help better
support schools, particularly elementary, and 2) to help with vertical alignment. So with these
assumptions, the academic organizational structure could be evaluated with survey data (items
on our comprehensive survey, TELL, and other possible surveys) and with examining transition
data (especially student readiness for the next level, i.e. 5th to 6th and 8th to 9th, and 12th to
college or career). The impact of the new structure on curriculum, instruction, and professional
development support to schools should also be examined in regard to this readiness data.
Dewey Hensley - Ultimately, the new academic structure should be judged by how our school
improves in the Kentucky Accountability System, which measures Achievement, Growth, Gaps,
College and Career Readiness, and Graduation Rates. By using these metrics, we can compare
ourselves to everyone else in the state and get raw data on growth, as well as the percentile
ranking against the entire state. There should also be other metrics used to evaluate the
structure—primarily, expenditure vs. outcomes. Our goal is to get better outcomes for student
performance, achievement, and graduation rates while also freeing up more money to provide
supports inside schools, where the most important work happens. We also need to measure
how the PLCs work and how professional development grows from this inverted model of
delivery—it makes what happens in the schools the most important thing.
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
What is the communications plan for tracking where students go in an emergency event
(hospital admissions)? (Michael Raisor)
Typically, we are advised by EMS where the students are being taken. In the case of the Frost
Middle School bus accident in September, every student on the bus was transported for medical
attention. They were all loaded onto Louisville Metro’s new mobile triage vehicle and students
were admitted on a seriousness/capacity basis at local hospitals. We did not find out until
students were admitted where they were taken. In that case, however, we had district
personnel waiting at the hospitals to confirm. We made multiple attempts to find out at the
scene. The delay in receiving information was shared with emergency personnel at the after
action review.

When Julia Bauscher takes her position as President of her association, we will be putting out
a media release on this, right? (Christi Lanier-Robinson)
Yes, we will work with the organization she will be representing to issue a press release.

Do we have plans for redesigning the JCPS website? How do we measure the visibility of our
site? (Christi Lanier-Robinson)
A massive overhaul to the website was done about 2 ½ years ago. It is time to do another one.
The changes that were made provided for more flexibility and the ability to more easily highlight
new initiatives within our schools. Updates to the website are made on a continuous basis and
reflect any new initiatives that are introduced to our schools and the community.
We measure the visibility of the site by the number of hits to the site. Not surprisingly, there is
a significant increase in hits during high visibility initiatives and other peak times, but on average
the website receives about 8,600 hits each day.

How do we decide which schools get the Advance Program (AP)? (Bob Rodosky and Dewey
Hensley)
Current Status:
Bob Rodosky - All middle schools with the exception of Frost, Barret Traditional, Johnson
Traditional, and Brown have the Advance Program. All high schools with the exception of Brown,
Butler, and Male have the Advance Program.
An elementary school (via the principal) has to express interest to the Options and Magnet
office about obtaining the program. A proposal needs to be developed that has the following
items:
1. Data on the number of resides students who qualify for AP. (These students could be
attending schools with AP programs or they could have deferred placement because they
did not want to leave the current school to attend another school with the AP program).
2. Data on the number of students attending the school who qualify for the AP program.
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3. Data on the number of certified, experienced Gifted/Talented or Advance Program teachers
on school staff.
4. Data on the number of teachers with professional development experiences focused on
teaching Advance Program students or gifted and talented students.
5. Description of the curriculum currently used at the school. (How close does it match the AP
curriculum?)
The Demographics Department looks at the numbers in Items #1 and #2 above. Basically, you
have to have enough students to make the program viable and sustainable (one class per grade
starting with third graders who qualify as fourth graders for AP). School capacity is considered,
as well as possible boundary changes. Also considered is the effect of the proposed change on
the diversity index of the schools involved. Transportation is consulted to determine if the
change will increase routes or costs. Board of Education approval is needed to make the
change. If the proposal is approved, money from the state’s Gifted and Talented grant is used to
help with staff training and curricular materials (Items #4 and #5 above).
Dewey Hensley - In elementary and middle schools, that work was defined by the Student
Assignment Department. In high school, there was a longstanding small list of schools that had
AP programs (e.g., PRP, Seneca, Manual, Eastern, Ballard, Waggener and maybe one or two
more—can’t remember). Iroquois was added in the early 90’s, Fern Creek was added in the early
2000’s, Fairdale was pushing for the designation, etc. Eventually (early 2000’s), Advance
Program didn’t really mean anything in high school because no one was teaching the old
curriculum and all schools started offering Advanced Placement courses. Therefore, a few years
ago, the district made all high schools AP sites. Presently, we are in the process of moving the AP
program out of Student Assignment to the Academic Services part of the Organizational
Chart…our goal is to make it equitable and academically focused.
Future Status:
The Advance Program is really about provided services to students according to their needs. It is
important that all students are receiving the appropriate instruction and are being challenged.
The Advance Program will be moving to Academic Services as we look to provide the service to
all identified students.

Do we consider male teachers in elementary schools as a minority focus? (Michael Raisor)
Yes. They are an under-represented population. We have had male elementary teachers as
part of our ACES program.

Clearly, JCPS collects and analyzes lots of data. What are the “blind spots” or structural
barriers based on system architecture or data-gathering tools — that is, what do we want to
know that our systems don’t enable us to know? (Bob Rodosky)
A challenge for analyzing data in a large district is to provide meaningful analysis at both the
district level and at the school/student level. Quality and fidelity of implementation of
districtwide programs and professional development are two areas that need to be explored
further. Also, we need to work on developing a better understanding of the depth and nuances
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related to student perspectives (not just survey data). Hopefully, the new teacher evaluation
model will help with this if it includes student ratings.
Our instructional monitoring could be stronger. Understanding what is happening in the
classroom in terms of teacher language and feedback to students, currently, seems to be
lacking. Part of the problem is we collect this data mostly with paper forms and it is very hard to
spot trends over time by individual, department, school, and district. Also with any system that
uses judgments of work vs. protocols, we have to be concerned with inter-rater reliability. Paper
collection of data makes it very difficult to be consistent across the district.
Our longitudinal data system needs to be protected and strengthened. Sometimes we get
caught in the system of looking at data from a one- or two-year perspective when we have data
that spans years. In the past few years, we have created a system of putting some data in our
student data system (Infinite Campus). This systems change to Infinite Campus (IC) has created a
"blind spot" because users tend to look at data that is available in IC and forward. Dr. Hensley
has talked about student profiles that have a student's history (all academic, all attendance, all
behavior, all interventions) in one place. The challenge then will be quick access that can be
tailored to the needs of the adult working with the student.
Finally, it is very hard to “prove” causal effects. This has to do with the complexity of
experiences of students both in and out of school. Instead, most of our work deals with the
relationship of identifying best practices to improve outcomes. We do a lot of backward
mapping analyses where we find a group of students doing well (on identified outcomes), look
at their experiences (in our records) and try to find common experiences that could be identified
as a best practice. Through statistical analyses, we can determine the nature and strength of the
relationship but we can’t say exclusively that x (the experience) caused y (the outcome).

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) seem to be the core of JCPS’ theory of action to
improve student achievement. Does the public understand this? Should it? (Dewey Hensley)
I have been on television and the radio discussing the professional learning community. We
have community leaders and members doing “instructional rounds” in our schools built around
the PLC concept—they will see it in action first hand. What the public really needs to know is
that the teachers in the school work together to support all children and move the entire school,
one child at a time, forward.
A couple of descriptions of PLC work and some research backing its use may be found at:
http://www.jefferson.kyschools.us/Superintendent/Prof_Learning_Communities.pdf and
http://www.jefferson.kyschools.us/Superintendent/PLC_Research.pdf

Do we have capabilities in “customer surveying”? Where does that fall? (Bob Rodosky)
Yes. Every year we survey students, teachers, staff, and parents with our Comprehensive School
Survey. The survey takes place in February. Last year we had the following number of people by
group completing the survey:
Elementary students (Grades 4 and 5)
Middle School Students (Grades 6-8)
High school students (Grades 9-12)
14,194
19,879
22,346
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School Based Classified Staff (All Levels) 2,861
School Based Certified (All Teachers)
5,753
Non School Based Classified
541
Non School Based Certified
375
Parents (all levels)
26,756
The district puts the results of the survey in an interactive analysis tool that can be found at
http://www.assessment.jefferson.k12.ky.us/cssCompare/default.aspx. This tool allows the
public to drill down by school, group, race, and sex. If a Board member would like a tutorial, the
Data Management, Planning, and Program Evaluation division will provide it.
Bob Rodosky is in charge of surveys. Besides the district’s comprehensive survey, he receives
requests from outside groups to conduct surveys for various research projects. He considers
each request within the criteria of how the data will benefit the students/staff in the district
versus the instructional time the administration/completion of the survey will take away from
students/staff. The procedures and criteria for considering outside research can be found at
http://www.jefferson.k12.ky.us/Departments/AcctResPlan/PDF/ResearchInJCPS.pdf.

Where is the data center? The physical site? (Michael Raisor)
The Main Data Center for JCPS is located at VanHoose Education Center.

Where are the bus depots and how many are there? (Michael Raisor)
Currently, we have 15 high/middle depots and 15 elementary depots. The depots range from 6
buses to 26. Our high/middle depots have the larger number of buses. Attached are the names
of the depots and their locations.

Where can I see more content about the Educator Growth System (EGS) already in place, or
what is being shaped now? (Michael Raisor)
The procedures/directions for our current evaluation system are included in the Personnel
Procedures Manual on the HR website.
http://rethinkingschoolsblog.wordpress.com/2011/12/05/taking-teacher-quality-seriously-acollaborative-approach-to-teacher-evaluation/
This is a good article on Montgomery County, Maryland’s Educator Growth System. Also you
will find at the following link a comparison of what we currently have, Kentucky’s proposed
changes, Montgomery County, and our ideal future JCPS EGS:
http://www.jefferson.kyschools.us/Superintendent/EGS_Comparison_Timeline.pdf.

When principals are approached by local businesses for sponsorship/partnership
opportunities, what is that principal’s best course of action? (Christi Lanier-Robinson and
Dewey Hensley)
Christi Lanier-Robinson - Principals should first talk to their area superintendent before pursuing
a partnership with a local business. Once a principal has obtained approval from the area
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superintendent, they should contact the office of business partnerships which tracks and helps
to manage partnerships with the business community.
Dewey Hensley - Christi Lanier Robinson can discuss the district protocols. The real challenge for
the principals is to use partnerships that move the needle forward on student achievement. It is
important that they choose partners that can support the school goals, not partners with their
goals external from the student achievement success.

How far out are Board members notified when a recognition is going to happen in their
district? (Christi Lanier-Robinson)
Board members are notified at least two weeks in advance about board recognitions that will be
presented to students, schools, and staff from the district they represent.

Where are the community schools, and what are their hours? (Christi Lanier-Robinson)
The JCPS Community Schools are Cane Run Elementary, Fairdale High School, Farnsley Middle
School, Frost Middle School, Iroquois High School, Meyzeek Middle School, and Western Middle
School.
These schools are open Monday-Friday from 3:00-9:00 p.m. year round.

Is the child enrichment program a renewal partnership agreement with YMCA? How is that
arrangement reviewed? (Christi Lanier-Robinson)
The Childcare Enrichment Program has been in existence since 1985. A Memorandum of
Agreement is reviewed by each partner annually. This review follows the prescribed JCPS
process of review which includes review and approval by the designated Cabinet member and
legal. Once this process is completed, the MOA is presented to the Board for action.

What is our current definition of homelessness that we currently operate under? (John
Marshall)
The original federal Act, known as simply the McKinney Act, provided little protection for
homeless children in the area of public education. As a result, the State of Illinois passed the
Illinois Education for Homeless Children Act, which was drafted by Joseph Clary, an attorney and
advocate for the Illinois Coalition to End Homelessness. Clary then worked with national
advocates to ensure that the protections afforded to homeless children by the Illinois statute
were incorporated into the McKinney Act. At that point, the McKinney Act was amended to
become the McKinney-Vento Act. That Act uses the Illinois statute in defining homeless children
as “individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.” The Act then goes
on to give examples of children who would fall under this definition:
(a) Children sharing housing due to economic hardship or loss of housing;
(b) Children living in “motels, hotels, trailer parks, or campgrounds due to lack of
alternative accommodations”
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(c) Children living in “emergency or transitional shelters”
(d) Children “awaiting foster care placement”
(e) Children whose primary nighttime residence is not ordinarily used as a regular
sleeping accommodation (e.g. park benches, etc.)
(f) Children living in “cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard
housing, bus or train stations…”

Hurricane Katrina brought many families to our city. If a situation like that repeats, how do we
facilitate education for the children that are temporarily in our community? What other
organizations are key partners in that situation? (Christi Lanier-Robinson)
When Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005, there was a concerted effort between Louisville Metro
Government, JCPS and all social service organizations to provide assistance to the families who
were relocated to the community. This resulted in a “one stop shopping” experience for
families. The JCPS effort was spearheaded by staff from the Neighborhood Place and Homeless/
Migrant Education who worked one-on-one with families to enroll their children in school. The
same prototype that was developed during this process would be used again should a similar
disaster occur again.

More information on Action Research Project for Gheens. (Dewey Hensley)
As part of our work, I have made some shifts in the way we do our Innovation awards. I have
asked Sondra Ferren to lead the way as we change the focus from celebrating what has already
happened to creating the conditions that foster innovation and align with our district’s
“professional learning community” shifts. We will be providing $5,000 grants to TEACHER
TEAMS/PLC TEAMS that propose to do something that is innovative. Only teacher teams and/or
administrative teams can apply. If their proposal is approved, the team will agree to plan,
implement, and monitor a strategy, allow Gheens to record their work on video, and will agree
to openly share their work at a “Gheens Innovation Summit” when the project is completed.
This conference will be open to all schools and will allow the teams to present their findings and
their data. All of this will be videotaped and placed on the Gheens website so that all schools
can learn from this team. We will also provide other teams who did not get a $5,000 grant to
participate and share at the conference, as well. We can also host a celebration that shows the
videos and honors the recipients. I cannot express how much I appreciate the role The Gheens
Foundation has played in my work and the vision for how we can prepare each student to be
college and career ready. My interest has always been in getting outcomes for our most
disenfranchised children—I believe this work and the contribution of The Gheens Foundation
changes the trajectory of students’ lives. I would appreciate any feedback you would like to
provide on these changes. Also, if you have any questions, I would be happy to respond. We are
working on the criteria for the applications.
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
Liaisons needed? (Dewey Hensley)
It needs to be absolutely clear who principals are accountable to and who is accountable for a
school — the Achievement Area Assistant Superintendents. The Assistant Superintendents have
a team of three people to assist them. The Assistant Superintendent needs to have firsthand
information.

Energy Star rating shows we need to be more efficient – what is rating? (Michael Raisor)
Energy Star rating shows we need to be more efficient – what is rating? Regarding school
buildings, the EPA Energy Star Program identifies schools with energy efficiency measured at the
75th percentile or above, compared against all other schools in the USA. The energy efficiency
rating is measured in Kbtu/sf/yr and the threshold constantly tightens as more schools increase
energy efficiency. Shelby Elementary was the first school in the Southeast region to achieve
Energy Star, since then we have added Ballard, Cane Run, Chancey, Farmer, Myers, Ramsey, and
Stopher. We use the free EPA Energy Star Portfolio Manager Program to track energy
consumption and efficiency. We have identified 33 more schools that will qualify for the Energy
Star distinction; we are in the process of verifying data and securing professional certification.
Note: Shelby Elementary was given Energy Star recognition, by the EPA, the same day as three
other schools in Warren County.

Could the Superintendent publish a weekly column in The Courier-Journal? (Christi LanierRobinson)
The Courier-Journal does not offer a weekly column. Instead The Courier-Journal (as well as
Business First) has provided the district with the opportunity to submit an op-ed on a quarterly
basis.

Who is monitoring referrals to be sure consistency in enforcement of discipline
code/suspensions? (Michael Raisor and Dewey Hensley)
Michael Raisor - The Pupil Personnel Department monitors student referrals. The Student
Referral System holds an instance (a referral) where a child has accumulated 3 or more
unexcused absences since the start of the school year or after a student’s last Central Office
referral. The system records interventions done by school users, school social workers, assistant
directors of pupil personnel, and court liaisons. The Student Referral System also records
Address Verification requests where a school can ask a school social worker or assistant director
of pupil personnel to go out to verify a student lives at an address.
Dewey Hensley - Our Student Response Team (SRT) is really working our data system—while it is
really inside the school where this is done most, the District SRT monitors school data on
suspensions, ISAPs, SRT calls, etc. This keeps our finger on the pulse of schools that need help.
IF a school is not being consistent, it is usually visible in the data we examine long before we
would have known in the past—then we can go in and support the work.
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
Our Equity-Poverty-Diversity work seems heavily weighted on African-Americans. Can we
expand community contact with others groups (United Negro Fund) (John Marshall)
The Department of Equity and Poverty (DEP) is closely partnered with many organizations and
keeps a close eye on all ethnic origins.
Metro United Way, YMCA, Edgar Mansilla, Newcomers Academy are but a few of the
community contacts. On John Marshall’s advisory boards sit a diverse group of leaders from all
walks and corners of the community. The work of cultural competence echoes inclusion of all
children. The responses and feedback fortify the fact that staff understands that it is not solely a
black/white issue.

We need group achievement data to start trend work under common core. (Dewey Hensley)
Thanks to Bob and Dena we have already started the process of looking at teaching student
group and figuring out how far they are from the proficiency line…and creating strategies to
move each group forward and the district forward overall.

Did Eddie Muns tell principals they can’t spend $ on food for staff? (Cordelia Hardin)
The new Board-approved Meals & Refreshments Guidelines specifically disallow staff meals,
unless these meals are part of a meal with parents, students, or community. The Spending
Guidelines and New Guidelines FAQ also reflect this. These three documents are available at:
http://www.jefferson.k12.ky.us/Departments/FinancialServices/AcctVouchers.html

Will we only want programs supporting higher scores — not whole child? (Dewey Hensley)
This is a challenging question. It is my experience that schools often make the mistake of
thinking higher scores and whole child approaches are exclusive of each other. In truth, it is
impossible to have HIGHER ACHIEVEMENT without focusing on THE WHOLE CHILD. More
importantly, we never do a child justice if we don’t challenge them to have the skills needed to
be successful…the reading, writing, math, science, social studies, etc. skills that help them be
successful…and the non-cognitive skills like resiliency and tenacity, institutional navigation skills,
etc. We have to teach those kinds of character skills within the context of higher achievement—
achievement equals opportunity for our kids. Additionally, it is my hope we can build stronger
teachers and teacher teams and school support services that we are able to teach all our
students character, tenacity, and resiliency all as they have measurable gains in academic
performance.

Recruitment and Development: Please describe our alternative teacher certification
programs. What are we doing to increase diversity in our teacher workforce? Is there a plan –
are there target numbers we hope to achieve? (Michael Raisor)
John Marshall - There is also a Minority Teacher Recruitment Program (MTRP) component to
this effort. Sylena Fishback is charged with raising interest in teaching. She works with schools
to design Minority Teacher Recruitment Program (MTRP)/Future Educators of America (FEA)
clubs that celebrate and explore teaching as a career.
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Michael Raisor - Our district-based Alternative Certification program is ACES (Alternative
Certification for Elementary and Secondary) – a description of the program may be found at the
following link:
http://www.jefferson.kyschools.us/Superintendent/ACES_Information_Sheet.pdf.
To increase diversity in our workforce, we offer the ACES program, tuition assistance for initial
certification through other university Alternative Certification programs, the MTRP program
(Multicultural Teacher Recruitment Program), the Education Career Academies at Doss,
Atherton, Fairdale, and Seneca High Schools, and we frequent university education fairs that
produce diverse candidates. Our hiring goal each year is 20% of our new hires from diverse
populations. Our overall goal is that the teacher diversity population matches that of the
student population.

Do we have data that shows demographics of our entire work force – classified and certified?
(Michael Raisor)
Yes, we have demographic data for all employees, both classified and certified. Sample data
elements are: name, SSN, Employee ID, home address, home phone, date of birth, gender, work
location, marital status (incomplete), gender, race, bargaining unit, job class code, hire date,
work email, work status.

Transportation: Digital cameras on ALL school buses by summer 2013? Please verify if that is
the correct date. How many buses with cameras now? How many cameras installed since
July 1? (Michael Raisor)
In August 2012, we had 100 buses with cameras. During this fall, the bid was approved by the
Board to add cameras and WiFi connection for all buses. We started adding these cameras
during winter break. We have approximately 20 new cameras on buses. Our goal is to have all
buses with cameras for the start of the 2013-2014 school year.

Voice/Data/Wireless – Districtwide Notification System: Is districtwide notification a part of
the new telephone system? When is the timeline to get telephone system and districtwide
notification system in place? This is critical information for Board members to have. (Michael
Raisor)
The notification system is not part of the new telephone system (voice network). The goal is to
begin installing the new networks this spring and the completion of this initiative will most likely
take one year given having over 155 campus locations. The timeline for the notification system
is for the beginning of 2013/2014 school year at the latest. It will be able to “Go Live”
immediately at all locations.
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