JCPS fighting to avoid learning loss due to delayed bus routes

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Several Jefferson County Public Schools families have felt the pains of dealing with delayed school buses, impacting students who are missing out on assignments and instruction time.

In response to the ongoing problem, some schools are considering new ways to address the issue.

Karen Black is the guardian of her great-niece, a freshman at Doss High School. Black describes her student as a straight-A student with big goals.

"She'll tell you, 'I'm going to be on the Supreme Court one day,' and I believe in my heart she probably will," said Black.

But Black says late buses have caused a bump in the road for her niece to reach those goals.

“She gets to school, class has already started, she’s told ‘shh, we’re in lesson,’ she doesn't know what they're doing, because she wasn't there when they started," she said.

Black said the bus route has been late every day for almost a week, and she has had to drive her student to school only to be greeted by traffic jams in the drop-off lanes, making them both late to work or school.

The district said some schools are considering switching class periods around to offset students' learning loss. For example, students will start the day with first period, and the next day with second period.

"If schools decide to take that route they will let teachers know, obviously, and students and families," said Carolyn Callahan, JCPS' chief of Communications. "We're trying to come up with ways we can make sure all our kids are getting all the class time they need and they deserve."

Callahan said it will be up to individual schools to decide if school administrators will take that route.

Teachers are also instructed to meet with students who arrive late due to a bus delay during free periods or after school.

“Class time is number one and that's why were working really hard with our schools and our teachers to say if these kids are missing these classes, you need to be able to work with them," Callahan said.

Tammy Berlin is a teacher at Atherton High School and vice president of the Jefferson County Teachers Association (JCTA). She said her school has been impacted less by bus delays, but said she and other teachers rely on Google Classroom to make sure students have access to assignments and lessons.

"I have just trained them that the first place you go is go to Google Classroom, on my class, go to the classwork page and find whatever's new there and I make sure everything is self-explanatory," Berlin said. "We're here to help you get the future that you want and that you want to work for."

JCPS said it hopes to bring in more drivers over the next few weeks. The district said 30 drivers are in the final stages of certification and will begin testing next week for their CDL license. Ten drivers with CDL permits are scheduled to start a new training class on Sept. 12. Another five to seven drivers working towards their permits could join that group of 10. An additional 20 people are beginning the interview process.

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