Good job, Union County

Congratulations to Superintendent Josh Powell

KDE, pay attention

The Union County School District has been ‘on our RADAR’ since 2009 when its superintendent, Josh Powell, stood up to pressure from the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) to do things their way, using their assistance team to help, or else.

Powell felt he had some better ideas, and he stared down the KDE folks, going with his own plan to improve Union’s then faltering school system. At the time, we thought Powell might be on the right track.

Since then, Union County has improved their performance and district ranking on state assessments.

Now, the district has been recognized by the American School Board Journal for closing the white-black achievement gap in the district.

It is reported in the Union County Advocate that:

“District-wide, African American students have made a 21% gain in those scoring at a Proficient and Distinguished level in reading and a 22% gain in math.”

Good Job, Union County!

KDE needs to pay attention, and Louisville does, too.