JCPS Chief Academic Officer Carmen Coleman said the district developed an ESL master plan over the years that calls for the additional teachers and services. There is no concrete deadline yet for when JCPS would like to hire the ESL teachers, Hebert said, adding that no student's school assignment was changed as part of the initiative. More news: Kentucky schools will have 24 hours to notify families of COVID-19 cases In the meantime, Hebert said the district's 12 ESL resource teachers, who essentially act as coaches to the ESL teachers, will support schools without any English language instructors to start the 2020-21 academic year. 18 school board meeting, JCPS Superintendent Marty Pollio suggested the district could push for federal funding to help pay for the cost of more ESL teachers. The ESL Newcomer Academy, which serves JCPS students who immigrated to Louisville from other countries, also has 47 ESL teachers, according to the district.ĭuring an Aug. The district has 133 ESL teachers across 43 elementary schools, 26 teachers across 10 middle schools and 43 teachers across 10 high schools, according to Hebert. Hiring 12 additional teachers would cost the district a little over $800,000, he said. Other schools might share, with teachers working between schools.'įourteen elementary schools, 20 middle schools and 23 high schools - about one-third of all JCPS schools - have at least one ESL student but no ESL teachers, Hebert said.īased on enrollment projections for the new school year, JCPS believes it needs at least 12 new ESL teachers to provide services to every student, Hebert said. 'Some schools might even have more than one, again, depending on numbers and need. 'Depending on student numbers and needs, some schools might have a full-time ESL teacher,' Hebert said. That doesn't mean each of the 170 schools in JCPS will have an ESL teacher, Hebert added. Hebert said under a JCPS plan, every student will receive ESL services 'based on their needs.' Week 1: Several JCPS high schools call off live online classes following disruptions 'We want students to be able to receive support in any school they attend,' JCPS spokesman Mark Hebert said. 'We don’t want a family to have to choose between ESL services and a school.'

It's a notable goal given that JCPS says it has also seen double-digit English-learner growth for the last seven years, including 25% growth last school year, which represented a 20-year high. That has prevented some ESL students from having the opportunity to participate in certain sought-after traditional and magnet programs at JCPS schools.īut now, JCPS is determined to change that. Historically, ESL programs for the roughly 12,000 English language learners now in JCPS have been offered only in select schools around Louisville. The plan comes as students and staff in Kentucky's largest school district have begun the 2020-21 year from their homes with nontraditional instruction, or 'NTI 2.0.'ĬOVID-19 has forced JCPS and school districts around the country to stick with remote learning for the start of the fall, and leaders have acknowledged that virtual learning poses unique challenges, especially for ESL students. LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Officials with Jefferson County Public Schools want every student who is learning English to have access to English as a second language services during the new school year. Watch Video: Louisville immigrant students discuss what they left behind

Esl learning english louisville