Late in last spring’s legislative session, Senate Bill 270 was passed and forged a partnership between Kentucky State University, Simmons College of Kentucky and West Louisville.
Two of the main objectives of the initiative are to prepare more teachers of color and to help address issues of health education, wellness and food insecurity in West Louisville.
Planning is underway for this legislative objective, as Kentucky State administrators Dr. Lucian Yates III and Dr. Stashia L. Emanuel laid the groundwork for dual credit coursework for high school students in West Louisville. Kentucky State has already experienced success in providing dual credit courses to high school students at Frankfort High School and West Jessamine High School. Yates said Kentucky State hopes to replicate that success for West Louisville students, helping them earn an associate’s degree from Kentucky State by the time they graduate high school. Yates said the research shows that dual credit courses benefit low-income and students of color, citing a report by the Kentucky Council of Postsecondary Education (CPE).
Dual credit offerings are one piece of a larger puzzle, which aims to train educators of color through a Simmons College of Kentucky teacher preparation program. According to statistics from The Education Trust, Kentucky student and teacher demographics are disproportionate and show a shortage of Black and Latino teachers. While 10.5 percent of Kentucky students are Black and 6.5 percent are Latino, only 3.5 percent of teachers are Black and 0.6 percent are Latino. According to The Education Trust report, increasing diversity can expose students to positive role models and counteract negative stereotypes that misrepresent people of color; increase academic performance of students of color; increase positive school experiences for students of color and reduce exclusionary discipline. Over three-fifths of Kentucky schools do not have a single Black teacher and over 85 percent of schools don’t have a single Latino teacher.
Yates said the initiative is a great opportunity for Kentucky State to expand its footprint beyond its service counties and work to benefit the nine separate communities, each with their own strengths and opportunities, in West Louisville. COVID-19 forced classes to go online, but doing so has provided Kentucky State with an opportunity to locate students from the area with credits but no degree and help them finish out their degree online if they wish.
Emanuel said another aspect of the initiative is addressing the food desert in West Louisville. With the nearest grocery 10 miles away and no restaurants nearby, it’s hard for residents to access fresh food. Emanuel said through the partnership, Kentucky State’s agriculture program will work with the community to develop various gardening practices to help alleviate the problem until a grocer for the area can be identified and implemented.
Accessing social services is another issue to be addressed, providing an opportunity for Kentucky State to work with the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) to assist in the delivery of public assistance, social support services and health and nutrition services to the area.
With big plans on the horizon, Yates and Emanuel said they are excited to position students for success.