Leaders outline what to expect in Kentucky's School Report Card ahead of its release

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky's School Report Card will be made public next week, and the state's education commissioner said the results shouldn't be surprising as the pandemic has continued to have an impact.

"We know the gaps, they're not surprising, so we now we've got to work on that recovery out of the disruption that we've experienced," said Dr. Jason Glass, commissioner of education for the Kentucky Department of Education.

Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio said schools have gone through the "most challenging time in school history."

Pollio said two of the most difficult challenges in education have been the pandemic itself and an extreme teacher/employee shortage.

"Which continue," he said. "Both of them continue in some way."

While the pandemic has been a challenge, Pollio said a silver-lining in all of it has been available federal funds making sure that all students now have access to the technology they need to learn and do their work through devices like Chromebooks and laptops.

"We have to have every child, every child has to have that in their hands," he said. "Not just students of means, but every child."

Friday, Pollio and Glass visited two JCPS schools — Kenwood Elementary and Grace James Academy. Both schools received the Family Friendly Schools certification as part of the Kentucky Family and School Partnership Guide.

"It's really a couple of examples of what's going right in public education," said Glass.

But, as leaders have pointed out, the past few years have been challenging. According to Glass, Kentucky mirrors the nation and disruptions from the pandemic will still be seen in the upcoming report card.

"So there aren't going to be any surprises for people that are working in schools. There may be a lot of concern about it that happens over the next couple of days once that data comes out, but I would encourage everybody to calm down, take a breath, and go back to work," he said. "We know the problems, we knew the problems were there before this data became available, and now it's just important to engage with it and let's start the process of recovery, or lets continue the process of recovery."

As for Jefferson County, Pollio said this year's results will likely become a baseline to compare to the years to come.