This proposal will lead to improved student experiences and outcomes:

• Students in the Choice Zone will have two school options

• Opportunities to stay with peers from middle to high school

• Opportunities for increased participation in after school activities and athletics

• Opportunities for improved attendance and sense of belonging

• Opportunities for increased family engagement

• Ease of understanding for families to engage in choice

The section of the plan on Magnets will lead to the following benefits:

• Improve student outcomes for Black and Brown students

• Ensure magnet schools and programs are representative of the District’s diversity

• Increase transparency and ease of understanding

• Decision making about leaving a school stays with families

• Increase access and opportunities through additional seats and programs

• Improve quality of magnet programming

• Dual Resides - providing an opportunity for students in the Choice Zone to choose to attend a school close to home or at a distance. The below linked proposed plan has been revised since its initial presentation in 2019 to include elementary schools.

  • This key element of the proposed plan affects thousands of students and is explored fully in the Summary of School Choice proposals and elaborated on further below for easy access.

• Boundary Adjustments and Feeder Patterns - aligning feeder patterns, beginning at the Elementary level, to enhance predictability of school paths. Elementary schools in the Choice Zone will be aligned with high schools by being placed within the high schools’ existing networks. These elementary schools’ cluster options will include close-to-home and distanced options.

• Magnet Strategy - creating a support structure for strong magnets that ends school-initiated exits; centralizes school lotteries for those that have a lottery; sets diversity targets; and creates new, engaging magnets.

• Choice Zone Support Plan - providing funding, staffing, and other resources to support schools in the Choice Zone, with continuous review.

• New Technology System and Outreach - implementing clear, easy to understand platforms that make participating in the school choice process more accessible for families.

CPS officials gave overviews of these three areas at a March 29 public forum at the Academy @ Shawnee. Here are videos of those presentations:

• Dual Resides and Feeder Patterns

  • Magnet Strategy

  • Investment Plan

Linked below, you will find the Summary of School Choice Proposals, which includes the Choice Zone Support Plan. The Choice Zone Support plan provides an overview of proposed programming and supports for the elementary, middle, and high schools that are, or will be, located in the Choice Zone. We are seeking feedback and hope you will provide your voice.

In order to fully implement this proposal, it would require the construction of a new school. Along with this new middle school, we would also need to consider building another new middle school and potentially a new high school in order to adequately meet the needs of our students and families in West Louisville.

Beginning in the 2023-24 school year, JCPS would implement the Dual Resides portion of this proposal for incoming kindergarten, 6th, and 9th grade students, if this measure is approved by the Jefferson County Board of Education. The Jefferson County Board of Education is likely to decide on the matter prior to the start of the 2022-23 school year.

After years of working with and listening to community members, JCPS has drafted a proposal to the public to provide middle and high school students in West Louisville more choice about where they attend school. Under this new proposal, middle and high school students would have the choice of attending a school close to home or attending a school in another part of the county. Students would be able to attend a new West Louisville middle school and The Academy @ Shawnee for high school, if this plan is approved by the Jefferson County Board of Education.

After receiving community feedback, we believe families want a say in where their child attends school. Middle and high school students in West Louisville are the only students in Jefferson County Public Schools who don’t have a close to home option and are assigned to schools that are sometimes up to 14 miles away. JCPS has drafted this proposal in the spirit of working with families and ensuring choice for all families.