• Category 3

    Selected in 2021

  • Grades: k - 5
    School Setting: urban
    Town Population: 615,924
    Student Enrollment: 576
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 28%
    White/Caucasian: 38%
    Hispanic: 18%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 11%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 5%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:15
    % Reduced Lunch: 85%
    % ELL Learners: 43%
    Founded: 1955
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Jill Handley
  • CONTACT:
    7420 Justan Ave.
    Louisville, KY 40214
    502-485-8283
    jill.handley@jefferson.kyschools.us
Kenwood Elementary School
Louisville, KY
Our success begins with having a vision of inclusivity in which we work collaboratively to meet the individual needs of our students and families."
1. Tell us about your school’s success.
At Kenwood our mission is to educate the whole child and engage the whole family. Our Kenwood community prides itself on leading the Kub Way every day which means focusing on compassion, responsibility, and integrity. Our foundation of success is rooted in the positive relationships we establish to foster a sense of belonging for all of our students. Through a workshop model, we embed an acceleration cycle that provides just-in-time instruction to ensure all students have equitable access to standards based instruction. We are very data driven to ensure we understand the academic and social emotional needs of all of our students to create personalized pathways that include acceleration, interventions, and enrichment.

2. Talk about the greatest contributing factor(s) that promoted positive change in your school.
Our success begins with having a vision of inclusivity in which we work collaboratively to meet the individual needs of our students and families. At Kenwood there is no such thing as your student or my student, they are all our students. Our systems and structures are aligned to ensure our multilingual teachers meet with grade group PLC’s weekly as well as with their ESL PLC to provide multilingual learners with culturally relevant instruction that is appropriate for their language levels while also aligning with the Kentucky Academic Standards. Each ESL teacher works with a different grade level to co-plan and co-teach. Administrators work hard to intentionally create a schedule that allows for teachers to co-plan in order for co-teaching to be most effective. During co-planning, the ESL teachers and grade level teachers will create units together, reflect on lessons, and adjust accordingly. They work together to create both content and language objectives for each unit.


3. How has ESEA funding supported the school's success?
At Kenwood, ESEA funds are typically used to purchase additional staff members to support a collaborative model that ensures intentionality for scaffolds and supports. Funds have also been used to purchase technology devices to support the school's efforts of having a 1-1 student to Chromebook ratio in an effort to remove barriers (academic and nonacademic such as Telehealth appointments) at home.
4. What professional development activities were used to improve teaching and learning?
Our ESL team attends district professional development based on current research of how to best serve multilingual learners, then shares that information with the school staff through full staff PD, as well as grade-level PLCs. This PD has included the following:
*Strategies for engaging and supporting newcomer students
*“Bricks and Mortar” Academic Language
*Picture Word Inductive Model (PWIM)
*ESL Considerations for using Jan Richardson's guided reading model.
*Google extension Read Write, which can serve as a digital accommodation tool by providing students with a screen reader and voice to text capabilities.
*Language Line Solutions to remove language barriers when working with families.
*Multiple sessions focused on culturally relevant/responsive pedagogy
*Using WIDA Standards to create language objectives
*SQQQA
In addition our ESL department provides information about the various cultures of our students.

5. Talk about the cultural shift leading up to your school's success.
A key factor in our success is approaching our work with multilingual learners through an asset based model versus a deficit lens. Walk in any classroom at Kenwood and you will find multiple instructional strategies for supporting English language learners such as modeling and Picture-Word Inductive Model (PWIM), plenty of visual supports and scaffolds for responses, and small group purposeful talk such as the QSSSA model with an emphasis on academic language strategies. Students receive cue cards for their desks that show their unique instructional accommodations so that they can practice self-advocacy and ask for help when they need it. The school librarian works hard to provide multicultural resources to teachers, including books in our students’ native language. Teachers intentionally use mentor texts that are culturally relevant for the population at our school, and students feel a sense of pride and belonging when they see themselves represented in the texts they read in class.

6. How has community involvement strengthened your success?
Our students and their families often need support with more than just academics, so our relationships with community partners are essential. We partner with a multitude of community partners to ensure their basic needs, including any emotional support, are met. Catholic Charities and Kentucky Refugee Ministries (KRM) help specifically with our refugee student population. Many of our students go to Americana Community Center, Greater Louisville Community Centers (Beechmont, Park Hill, South Louisville, and Berrytown), and the Louisville Free Public Library for their afterschool program and homework support. We have also partnered with Dismas Charities, Louisville Metro Police Department, Rajon Rondo Foundation, and Dare to Care to provide food, beds, clothes, and other resources for our families. We have also partnered with students from Our Lady of Providence High, Sacred Heart Academy, and Saint Margaret Mary’s Step by Step program to pair Kenwood students with an older mentor.

Stats
  • Category 3

    Selected in 2021

  • Grades: k - 5
    School Setting: urban
    Town Population: 615,924
    Student Enrollment: 576
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 28%
    White/Caucasian: 38%
    Hispanic: 18%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 11%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 5%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:15
    % Reduced Lunch: 85%
    % ELL Learners: 43%
    Founded: 1955
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Jill Handley
  • CONTACT:
    7420 Justan Ave.
    Louisville, KY 40214
    502-485-8283
    jill.handley@jefferson.kyschools.us