Mr. Neal also cites a widening gap between black and white students on student-achievement tests as evidence that the system is not working for blacks. But school officials say that low test scores and achievement gaps are associated with poverty, not racism, and point out that parents show high satisfaction with the school system's desegregation program. But we're working on ways to better integrate our classrooms and raise student achievement. The school board is in the process of mapping out a strategy for reaching those goals. However exemplary or flawed, Jefferson County's desegregation program is its own, says Ms. Gross, the spokeswoman for the state education department.
Desegregation is a local issue.
Because there are no educational statutes that apply to it, there is nothing we can do to enforce it. It's such a large school system that they have their own layer of bureaucracy in place that mimics the state's. Jerry E. Abramson, Louisville's mayor and a lifelong city resident, says that the quality of Jefferson County schools has improved over his 12-year tenure, making his job of luring business investment into the region a lot easier. We need to continue to tinker, continue to improve, but overall the system is working.