Jefferson County Public Schools recently announced a new partnership with the University of Louisville to increase and promote diversity in our school system. According to their press release, there is a gap between the number of African American teachers and students in JCPS. While 37 percent of students are black, just 12 percent of full time teachers are African American. The goal of the new Louisville Teacher Residency Program (LTR) is to fix this imbalance. With the LTR program, college graduates without an education degree can obtain a master’s degree and teaching certification in only one year, as long as they agree to teach in a high-needs JCPS school for five years.
“JCPS understands the need for teachers to be culturally responsive and ready to teach in diverse school settings. Through the Louisville Teacher Residency program, we have forged an innovative pathway to intentionally identify, prepare, and retain teachers to teach in the urban core. The development of this opportunity allows us to cultivate highly skilled educators who will undoubtedly impact future generations in the Louisville community.” said Sylena Fishback, director of the Louisville Teacher Residency program.
With its education focus, Class Act Federal Credit Union is always looking for opportunities to support the education community. When they learned about the Louisville Teacher Residency program, they jumped on the opportunity to contribute. Over three years, Class Act will donate up to $300,000. This money will go towards $3,000 scholarships for students and assist with faculty evaluations and programming. “As a local credit union founded by educators, we continue to look for unique opportunities that not only support the education community, but that also further the progress of providing exceptional programs and leaders for our youth. We support JCPS and look forward to seeing what these scholarships help to accomplish,” said Lynn Huether, Class Act’s CEO.
The LTR program begins in June, and will require a lot of hard work and determination. The 30 accepted students will receive $30,000 plus benefits during their year-long program. Students will be in a classroom with a Master teacher four days a week and attend classes at UofL during the summer and on Fridays. Dr. Amy Lingo, the University of Louisville’s Dean of Education expressed her excitement about the program and UofL’s partnership with Class Act and JCPS. “When you combine a financial institution that started managing hard-earned money of teachers, the 20th largest school district in the nation that serves and welcomes a diverse community, and a world-class research university with a highly ranked education college, we are sure to propel the lives of many prospective teachers. We know our combined efforts will provide a more diverse group of teachers to positively impact the social and academic well-being of students in JCPS” Dr. Lingo remarked.
If you would like to join the Class Act community, call 502.964.7575 or visit classact.org today!
