Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer has signed an agreement with Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent Donna Hargens to boost the city’s academic well-being.
The joint commitment reinforces on-going initiatives the city already has in place, like the 55,000 Degrees program. But it also emphasizes more collaboration between the two entities and includes regular meetings to discuss ways the city and schools can become better partners.The agreement will focus on all aspects of education, from early childhood programming to college graduation.It will also try to expand the number of Learning Places around the city, which are facilities that host extended learning time programs for students.There are over 30,000 Jefferson County children utilizing before and after school programs and part of the partnership says the city and district will try sharing data to provide more comprehensive outreach. Also, Metro United Way is currently working on a data system to track specific students’ improvement in out-of-school-time care.The agreement promises regular public reports on the partnership’s progress.
