The final week of school brings scenes of relief—a culmination of hard work—for Jefferson County Public Schools students and teachers. To learn more about what those last days of a school year are like, WFPL gave a recorder to a teacher who describes the relationships that are harvested and earned.Meet Cherie Edwards, who has taught at Johnson Traditional Middle School for 14 years.She teaches kids who are reading below grade level at the Park Hill neighborhood school. In one part, Edwards is dropping off books at the public library, speaking candidly about her students.
"My kids are big into appearances, 'How big is the book? How big at the words?' Edwards says. "So I actually went out and checked out a copy of every book on the summer reading list and brought it in as a display so they could actually see what it was. And some of them got really excited about a couple of them."Listen to Edwards below:Edwards brings her recorder out to "Field Day" and talks with the beloved security guard named Mr. Love."There's a lot of good things going on today, kids having fun," he says. "That's the main thing, the last few days of school, kids having fun the right way. [It's] field day. All these old school games, bringing back great memories to my childhood. That's what today's all about. Just the end of school and celebrating getting through a year with some success and some learning experiences."Driving through the school's neighborhood near 25th Street and Wilson Avenue, Edwards notices the many fast food restaurants and says she brings in different fruits and vegetables to class that students may not have seen before. "For my students, I just want to show them that the world is so much bigger than Louisville or wherever they live," she says. "I tell each and every one of them if you get a chance to travel, do it—go somewhere."This is piece was produced for The Next Louisville project, a partnership ofWFPL News, the Community Foundation of Louisville, the JPMorgan Chase Foundation and
Louisville Public Media depends on donations from members – generous people like you – for the majority of our funding. You can help make the next story possible with a donation of $10 or $20. We'll put your gift to work providing news and music for our diverse community.
