ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. (WDRB) -- Hardin County Schools' 15,000 students soon can expect more access to mental health services, financial literacy classes and a push for more racial equity in schools.
The district will implement those changes in the next few years under its new strategic plan, said Superintendent Teresa Morgan.
"The parents and the community said, 'Teach our students life skills,'" Morgan said. "Understanding what credit card debt will do for you, what student loan debt will do for you, and steps you can take to prevent that from happening."
Under state law, ninth graders will starting taking financial literacy classes next school year. It aligns with feedback from a thousand parents and community members who helped craft the strategic plan through 2023.
The plan also includes more access to student mental health services.
Hardin County Schools Superintendent Teresa Morgan.
"While not every student will need all those counseling services, some of our students need much more in-depth services than what we've ever had the need for before," said Morgan.
The district also will push for more racial equity in schools.
"If you look across Hardin County, we are about 30% minority, but yet we do not have those numbers represented in our classrooms," said Morgan.
Hardin County Schools plan to hire more minority teachers, in part by trying to recruit students from colleges in Kentucky and across the region.
"We are actually going outside the state of Kentucky to Ohio and Tennessee, trying to recruit minority applicants from there as well," Morgan said.
The district is implementing the new plan as it is building two new schools. The district hopes Lincoln Trail Elementary School will open in August. East Hardin Middle School could be ready as soon as October. Combined, the projects cost $45 million.
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