LOUISVILLE, Ky — One week before teachers welcome students back into their classrooms, Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) and Superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio held their kickoff symposium with an unclear semester ahead.

“I can’t tell you about the pandemic and COVID-19 and the spread,” he said. “And anything that will come out of the CDC … But I do know this: We got this.”

Lavania Hawkins and Julianne Palmer teach 5th grade at McFerran Prep and can’t wait to welcome kids back in person, even if that means masking up.

“The populations we serve don’t necessarily do as well at home, and so, they need to be back in the classrooms, so masks are just an extra precaution,” Hawkins said.

“I am a firm believer that we adjust according to the needs,” Palmer added. “The higher need is for the health and welfare of everybody.”

Addressing systemic issues of race in schools has been highly politicized this summer, with some Republican legislators proposing bills to limit how teachers can discuss race.

Pollio said every major city in America is dealing with achievement gaps, and educators are being told not to get to the root of the problem.

“The time I finally think we are making inroads to the foundation and changes that need to happen in our school to truly change the achievement gap — and that is a commitment to racial equity,” Pollio said. “We’re now being told we’re not supposed to talk about it. And that is a problem for me.”

With these issues and more looming over the district, 6,700 educators forge ahead into a new school year. Hawkins says it’s an important year for all of them.

“Get prepared, bring their positive energy, and, as Dr. Polio stated, be a lighthouse to all the students,” she said. 

“They need you.”