The Kentucky Department of Education has recommended removing three more principals from Jefferson County's lowest-performing schools.
Under Kentucky's two-year-old school accountability law, the state picks out the schools with the lowest test scores and graduation rates each year, and makes them come up with a plan to turn the school around. These schools are called Comprehensive Support and Improvement Schools or CSI schools.
The Kentucky Department of Education sends in a team of auditors to observe each of these schools over a four-day period. Then, auditors write a report based on their visit outlining what needs to improve. They have to make a recommendation as to whether the current principal has the "capability" to lead turn-around efforts.
In the last batch of reports to come in for Jefferson County, auditors recommended removing the principals of Englehard Elementary, Trunnell Elementary and Young Elementary.
"The principal does not have the capacity to function or to develop as a turnaround specialist," the audit reads for each school. Auditors said the principals "should not continue as principal and should be reassigned to a comparable position in the school district."
JCPS superintendent Marty Pollio has not said whether he will act on the auditors' recommendations.
"The reports are being reviewed and Dr. Pollio will be meeting with the principals of the three schools where KDE recommended change. A final decision will be made at a later time," JCPS spokeswoman Renee Murphy wrote in an email to WFPL.
The principals of those schools could not be reached for comment in time for our deadline.
The state has recommended removing a total of nine JCPS principals for the 2019-2020 school year. Their schools are listed below:
Englehard Elementary
Trunnell Elementary
Young Elementary
Mill Creek Elementary
Wheatley Elementary
Roosevelt-Perry Elementary
King Elementary
Doss High School
Atkinson Academy
This post has been updated.
