THE NEXT LOUISVILLE: Public Education
New Journalism Project Seeks Community Participation
89.3 WFPL News is partnering with the Community Foundation of Louisville and JPMorgan Chase Foundation to launch The Next Louisville: Public Education, a year-long community project to inform, engage and inspire conversation about our city’s most pressing issues.
Improving educational attainment is integral to the future of our city because:
- One out of four Louisville teens drops out of high school.
- Only 14% of African Americans hold a bachelor's degree or higher--the lowest among Louisville's 15 peer cities.
- Less than half of all 2012 JCPS graduates were ready for college or a career.
- One out of ten students is homeless (more than 10,000).
These are community-wide challenges that require community participation to resolve them. The goal of The Next Louisville is to provide ongoing access to in-depth journalism about public education and to invite grassroots participation to find creative solutions to this critical community challenge.
“The success of a public education system is vital to a thriving community,” said Donovan Reynolds, President and General Manager of Louisville Public Media. “Through this news initiative, made possible by our partnership with the Community Foundation of Louisville and the JPMorgan Chase Foundation, we hope to inspire a thoughtful public conversation on these and other challenges that face our city.”
As part of The Next Louisville, a new level of community participation is being introduced through the Public Insight Network (PIN). Created by American Public Media, PIN invites fresh, credible voices, perspectives and levels of knowledge to enrich and democratize local reporting and the public conversation.
“We need to hear voices beyond the usual ‘experts’ and consider innovative ideas for our public education system,” says, Susan Barry, President and CEO of the Community Foundation of Louisville. “Then we need to move from conversation to action so Louisville can become a top-tier city among our peers.”
The first Next Louisville: Public Education news special will air on 89.3 WFPL on Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 1:00pm. This live special invites the three outgoing Jefferson County Public Schools board members to share final words and will include a live call-in segment with their replacements. The first public forum will be held on Thursday, March 7, 2013 in partnership with the Network Center for Community Change. Details will be forthcoming on NextLouisville.com and WFPL.org.
Louisville citizens are encouraged to take part in The Next Louisville: Public Education by:
- Visiting NextLouisville.com, where updated information may be found about public events and broadcasts
- Calling the telephone hotline at (502) 814-6560
- Join the online discussion on Facebook.com/NextLouisville
- Joining the Public Insight Network at PublicInsightNetwork.org
About Louisville Public Media:
Louisville Public Media (LPM) is a not-for-profit corporation serving our community with three distinct public radio stations: WFPL 89.3 FM provides local, national and international news, public affairs and cultural programming; Classical 90.5 WUOL is our city’s only classical music and fine arts radio station; and 91.9 WFPK showcases independent, alternative music and an array of musical genres. Information about LPM is available at www.louisvillepublicmedia.org.
About JPMorgan Chase:
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.3 trillion and operations in more than 60 countries. The firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers, small business and commercial banking, financial transaction processing, asset management and private equity. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase & Co. serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.
About the Community Foundation of Louisville:
The Community Foundation of Louisville was founded in 1984, and is the largest community foundation in Kentucky with $350 million in assets and over 1,100 charitable funds. Each fund has its own name and charitable purpose as defined by its donors. In 2011, these funds awarded 7,500 grants totaling more than $33 million to nonprofit organizations in the Louisville area and beyond. For more information, visit www.cflouisville.org.
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Sources for statistics: Greater Louisville Project, www.greaterlouisvilleproject.org/Deep-Drivers/Education.aspx; 55,000degrees.org; Kentucky Department of Education, http://applications.education.ky.gov/src/DeliveryTargetByDistrict.aspx; Institute for Children, Poverty & Homelessness www.icphusa.org/PDF/reports/ICPH_Kentucky_Brief.pdf.