February 2025
JCPS Leads: Partnership Updates
The purpose of this newsletter is to share updates on new initiatives and changes happening within JCPS that impact school leaders. Special editions will be published when time-sensitive information needs to be shared.
Academics Division Update:
Back of Success Skills to Journey to Success
Journey to Success is a developmental framework that defines Jefferson County Public Schools’ (JCPS) shift to transformational, student-driven learning. Created to empower students to explore their interests, showcase their learning, and develop the skills they need to thrive, Journey to Success builds upon the JCPS Backpack of Success Skills, which launched in 2018.
How it Works
Journey to Success serves as a roadmap to high-quality student learning at JCPS. As such, we've developed a consistent Districtwide process for measuring K-12 student success that takes place at both transition years and interim years, and focuses on four key components.
LEARN
Success Skills
The foundation of Journey to Success is the development of our five Success Skills. Guiding documents, standardized rubrics, milestone checkpoints and a system for student reflection has been developed with the goal of keeping learners at the center of their educational experience.
COLLECT & REFLECT
Artifacts & Student Reflections
Students collect artifacts in the JCPS Digital Backpack to demonstrate their learning. Progress is tracked using consistent Districtwide rubrics, a focus on high-quality artifacts, and opportunities for student reflections. Our digital platform enables Districtwide data analysis and tracking of student progress toward academic readiness.
PREPARE
Milestones
To prepare for their final Defenses of Learning, students complete a milestone experience in grades K-4, 6-7 and 9-11. Milestone experiences can be a Mini-Defense, Student-Led Conference, or Exhibition of Learning that demonstrates learning and growth in Success Skill competencies.
DEFEND
Defenses of Learning
Students showcase their learning at key transition points—fifth, eighth, and twelfth grades—using artifacts to demonstrate how they have met five key indicators of success. All Defenses of Learning are completed in front of a trained panel of educators and are evaluated using Districtwide Defense of Learning rubrics.
JCPS Contact: Dr. Denay Speaks,
Assistant Superintendent
Academics Division
denay.speaks@jefferson.kyschools.us
Diversity, Equity & Poverty Division Update:
Revised Racial Equity Policy
The Jefferson County Board of Education revised the Racial Equity Policy on September 24, 2024. The following changes may impact university partners information that you share with principal preparation program students.
District Racial Equity Policy - STUDENTS 09.131
4. Staffing and Classroom Diversity
The District shall:
Attract, recruit, hire, and retain staff and leadership that more closely reflect the racial, ethnic, and linguistic diversity of the student body of the District.
Incorporate as part of the application and hiring process for positions Grade 9 and above, the completion of an Equity Screener.
Provide training to District and school administrators and school-based decision making councils to increase capacity for non-biased interview processes, as well as strategies for increasing staff racial diversity in an urban school district, where a majority of students are Students of Color.
This change means that now not just principal position or higher, but grade 9 or higher will complete the Equity Screener, which includes Assistant Principal Positions. It will be important for students coming out of your programs to understand and have evidence on how they are meeting the JCPS Equity Dispositions.
We recommend that you read the complete policy to understand all expectations within the policy for JCPS employees.
JCPS Contact: William Bunton, Executive Administrator
Diversity, Equity & Poverty Division
william.bunton@jefferson.kyschools.us
Schools Division Update:
New Leadership &
Professional Development Website
The Leadership & Professional Development Office as created a new website that provides information for employees with aspiration of becoming a leader in Jefferson County Public Schools. Feel free to direct individuals that you know are interested in leadership development to the website for more information.
Coming Soon...
Schools Division Student Advisory Council
The JCPS Schools Division is proud to announce that they are in the process of creating a Schools Division Student Advisory Council, an innovative step toward fostering authentic student engagement and driving meaningful district improvement. This initiative underscores our commitment to empowering students as active partners in shaping their educational experiences.
By integrating the Fletcher Ladder of Student Involvement in Schools as our framework, we aim to measure and continually enhance the council's effectiveness, striving to operate at the highest levels of engagement—beyond tokenism, decoration and manipulation. This strategic effort emphasizes the importance of authentic collaboration, ensuring students' voices are not only heard but truly valued in decision-making processes. More importantly, we are using students as leaders who are helping to implement change in our district.
This initiative aligns with our belief that student insights are critical to building an inclusive and dynamic learning environment. By prioritizing authentic engagement, we seek to create a district where every student feels empowered to lead, contribute, and thrive. The Schools Division Advisory Student Council represents an exciting opportunity to strengthen partnerships with our students, driving innovation and equity across JCPS. Once we have additional information we will share it with our partners.
JCPS Contact: Faith Stroud, Director
Schools Division: Office of Leadership & Professional Development
faith.stroud@jefferson.kyschools.us
Need Additional Assistance
If your organization needs more information about a topic presented in this newsletter, please reach out to the Office of Leadership & Professional Development for more information.
Schools Division, JCPS Office of Leadership and Professional Development
JCLA-info@jefferson.kyschools.us