A group of pastors rallied in front of Monday’s Jefferson County Board of Education meeting, urging for charter schools and citing the resignation letter of a chief school district official as an example of systemic problems in the state’s largest school district.

The Kentucky Pastors in Action Coalition, a group of Louisville faith leaders that has long pushed for charter schools and vouchers in the Bluegrass State, was joined Monday by independent gubernatorial candidate Drew Curtis and Republican lieutenant governor candidate Jenean Hampton, as well as other politicians and supporters.

The coalition said it decided to rally Monday after reading about the resignation of JCPS Chief Academic Officer Dewey Hensley, who in his resignation letter slammed JCPS for “pseudo-innovation” and for focusing more on rhetoric and image than on real results.

The pastors praised Hensley during Monday’s rally and said his resignation was another sign that Louisville needs to look outside the JCPS system for solutions to some of the area’s education issues.

“When we bring charter schools here, it will force the school system to do what kids need in school,” said Jerry Stephenson, senior pastor at the Midwest Church of Christ.

Read the full story here.

Chris Stewart is the Chief Executive Officer of Education Post, a media project of the Results in Education Foundation. He is a lifelong activist and 20-year supporter of nonprofit and education-related causes. Stewart has served as the director of outreach and external affairs for Education Post, the executive director of the African American Leadership Forum (AALF), and an elected member of the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here