New data shows Western High no longer in bottom 5% statewide

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - A JCPS school is showing significant signs of improvement after it scored in the bottom five percent of schools statewide.

In previous years, Western High was one of many schools categorized as “comprehensive support and improvement” or “CSI” status.

“In 2019, you may recall we had 34 schools that were named in the bottom five percent,” JCPS Superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio. “This year we had nine schools out of CSI status.”

This year’s report shows the collective effort of Western’s teachers, students, and parents to make them one of nine schools out of CSI status. Along with JCPS data from last year, they’ve now had 22 schools exit CSI status in the past two years.

“We pushed kids. On the other hand, we pushed parents just as much as we pushed the kids,” Western High Principal Mike Kelly said. “Parents needed to know where their kids were at. I think about the conferences we had and many of those were sometimes tough conferences. But we had high expectations for the kids. I think that was the biggest difference.”

Solving math equations is a normal part of Ms. Graci’s geometry class at Western High. Western’s grade prompted school officials like her to come up with creative solutions.

“One of the things I try to do to engage students in my class is not just how are you going to use the Pythagorean theorem, but how are you going to need to use these skills to think through problems in the future,” said Liz Graci, Western High Geometry Teacher.

Aside from CSI status schools, eight JCPS schools’ results were rated “very high” by the state, and they are Bloom, Dunn, Greathouse, Norton, and Stopher Elementary Schools; J. Graham Brown School (middle and high) as well as duPont Manual High School.

Applications for the upcoming school year open on November 6 and close on December 22.

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