"They don't know what happens here": Liberty High School teacher calls proposed school closure a huge mistake

Days after JCPS district leaders proposed closing Liberty High School to battle a major budget deficit, students walked out of class in protest.

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When Ashley Sidebottom heard Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Brian Yearwood was recommending her school for closure, she wasn't just upset- she was angry.

"I feel like they've never stepped foot in our school," the Liberty High School teacher told me. "They don't know what happens here."

Yearwood has recommended closing and consolidating several schools across the district in response to a major budget shortfall discovered earlier this fall. The deficit stems from the expiration of temporary funding sources- including prior budget surpluses and federal COVID-19 relief funds- that sustained district operations in recent years.

Among the schools proposed for closure is Liberty High School, which the district characterized as primarily a credit recovery school. Officials say credit recovery programs are now available across JCPS, making the standalone school unnecessary, and that students would return to their resident schools with personalized learning plans.

But Sidebottom says that description fundamentally misunderstands what Liberty does.

"When they called us a credit recovery school, that really was frustrating because that's not what we are at all," she said. "It's really a myth that we're a credit recovery school. We do so much more than that."

What makes Liberty different

Liberty High School operates using the Big Picture Learning model, a research-based approach that originated in Providence, Rhode Island, and has spread to schools worldwide. The school adopted the program in 2019, implementing it even as the pandemic forced education online.

The approach focuses on getting to know each student individually, learning their interests, and connecting learning opportunities to what motivates them. Many students participate in internships with local businesses for work-based learning credit. In daily advisory periods, students design their own schedules based on their needs and interests.

Teachers offer workshops on specific standards- like literary reading for English credit- rather than traditional full-period classes. Class sizes are small, typically far smaller than the 30-student rosters common at traditional high schools.

"All of our students were not successful at their other schools for a variety of reasons," Sidebottom explained. "Having these smaller classes and the ability to kind of design their learning in a way that makes sense for them has really led to some great success."

The school serves around 100 of what Sidebottom calls "the most underserved, most vulnerable students in the county," many dealing with anxiety and other challenges that make large classroom environments overwhelming.

"We've just seen the first wave of the kids that started high school during COVID," she said. "They really need the one-on-one relationships that we can have in the classroom."

Students walk out in protest

On Monday morning, Liberty students organized a walkout to protest the closure proposal- an action Sidebottom said teachers couldn't participate in during the school day but supervised for student safety.

Current and former students quickly mobilized on social media, creating hashtags and a "Save Liberty" Facebook page. A Change.org petition gathered around 700 signatures, with former students sharing testimonials about how the school helped them succeed.

"One of my favorite things about that petition is all of the testimonies from former students about how Liberty really helped them," Sidebottom said.

What closure would mean for staff

For Sidebottom and roughly 30 other staff members at Liberty, the proposal creates significant uncertainty. If the school closes, they would be considered "overstaffed" and need to transfer elsewhere in the district- a process Sidebottom has experienced three times before.

"It's a very stressful process," she said. "You apply for the openings, you go to the interviews, but you may or may not be chosen."

Her first year teaching, she was overstaffed from Western High School and interviewed at nearly every high school in the district. She didn't find out where she'd been placed- at Valley High School- until the day before school started.

Many Liberty staff members have only ever worked at that school, potentially putting them at a disadvantage when competing for positions at other schools where they lack connections, she explained. She also said the transition from Liberty's small, family-like environment could be challenging.

"You know, for a number of people, I would say it would be a big challenge to go from this environment to, say, a class or a roster of 150 students," Sidebottom said.

Fighting for the school's future

Sidebottom and others plan to attend the December 2nd public forum on the proposed changes, which will be held at the JCPS Center for Professional Learning. They're encouraging current students, families, and alumni to attend any or all of the forums the district is holding.

While she acknowledges that historically, when teachers have spoken out against district decisions, it hasn't changed the decision, she believes student and family voices could make the difference.

"In this case, I feel like if the students and their families make enough noise, then the district will have to listen," she said.

The best-case scenario is that Liberty stays open. But if the district insists on changes, Sidebottom says the school has survived moves before- this would be the fourth relocation in six years- and they'll persevere again.

"We feel like we're an important school. We do great things," she said. "They just need to give us the opportunity."

What's at stake, she argues, isn't just a building or a program- it's an approach that works for students who haven't found success anywhere else.

"It's really a myth that we're a credit recovery school," Sidebottom emphasized. "Alternative schools are really necessary to improve graduation rates and lower dropout rates. Having that opportunity for our students that really need it- it's going to be a detriment if the district decides to close our school."

The JCPS School Board will ultimately decide whether to approve the superintendent's recommendations.

You can ask questions about the JCPS proposal or give your feedback at one of three in person forums, or by using the Proposed Facility Changes Form.

Forum 1: Monday, Dec. 1, from 5–6 p.m. at Kammerer Middle School. Address: 7315 Wesboro Rd.
Forum 2: Tuesday, Dec. 2, from 5–6 p.m. at the JCPS Center for Professional Learning. Address: 3903 Atkinson Square Dr.
Forum 3: Wednesday, Dec. 3, from 5–6 p.m. at Academy @ Shawnee. Address: 4001 Herman St.

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