Maybe some good will come from the new listing of failing Kentucky school districts

We are learning that current attempts to fix schools don’t work


“I came on the local (school) board in 1987. What you just said to me is no different than what I heard in 1987. So why should I be hopeful?”

Kentucky Board of Education Chair Joe Brothers
October 8, 2009 Kentucky Board of Education Meeting in Frankfort, Kentucky


As I read comments in the Winchester Sun about the Clark County District being named one of the state’s lowest performing school districts, I could not help recalling Mr. Brothers’ insightful – and all too accurate – quote.

Consider this:

• The Clark County District has been in trouble under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) ever since the bill took effect in 2002.

• Five years ago, the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) sent an audit team to the district to figure out what was wrong.

• For the past four years, the KDE provided assistance teams to the district.


But, it has not helped, according to the district’s Assistant Superintendent, Pat Rosenthal.

Worse, despite all that supposed assistance, the district’s relatively new superintendent, Elaine Farris, says:

• The district isn't monitoring student progress in a systematic way.

• The district isn’t holding everybody accountable for making sure all students succeed.


And, finally, after years and years of KERA, Farris says:

“It’s just a fact that there’s the perception that some kids can’t learn, and we’ve got to change that thinking. Until we believe in our hearts that all kids can learn, we can’t change it.”

So, here are my questions right back.

• Why do we still have people in the school system with biased attitudes like that and who – after half a decade of effort – clearly are not going to change those attitudes?

• And, how can we talk about accountability in Kentucky’s schools when things like teacher tenure mean Farris can’t get rid of those people who, by her own admission, simply don’t get it and clearly are part of the problem?


Sadly, Joe Brothers, your comment still rings true today, more than a year after you uttered it and summarily got replaced on the Kentucky Board of Education for your candor. You see, that is what we do to people in Kentucky who really try to make effective changes in our schools.