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Petition Challenges Media Portrayal Of Bryan Station High School

fcps.net

On the heels of the recent arrival of a new principal, Bryan Station High School students have launched a petition criticizing local media outlets for perpetuating a negative image of the school.

So far close to 1,750 people have signed the change.org petition, which argues the regular stream of unflattering stories about the school dampens student morale and feeds into a self-reinforcing narrative that highlights what the writers call “false stereotypes.”

"I've been at Bryan Station for 40 days now and I'm going to tell you, it is completely different on the inside than what everybody is saying," says incoming interim principal James McMillin.

The former Woodford County Middle School assistant principal has made changing the educational culture at Bryan Station a mission and agrees that negative media attention does leave an impression – one, he says, that ignores the school’s burgeoning arts, Spanish immersion, and IT programs.

"We've got an IT program that developed an app that won national attention. It was a national award winning app. You know, you don't ever see those things in the media, no matter how hard we push it. But you have a fight in the hallway that three kids record on their phone and that is what's posted up there. And I think that's the frustration," he tells WUKY. "Fights happen at every school all over the nation every day. Bryan Station just somehow always seems to be that school that gets that attention."

The petition cites a WKYT-TV investigation that found 22 reported fights at Bryan Station during the previous school year, more than all other Lexington schools combined. Stubborn achievement gaps have also been singled out for special attention by the Kentucky Department of Education, which called for the district to formulate an action plan to allocate more resources to the school. And McMillin acknowledges the problem, noting he sent messages home to parents this month indicating that about 70 percent of their students were failing to reach benchmarks in English, reading, and math.

"That's a systematic issue,"he says, discussing students who are reading and doing math on middle school levels. "On the north side of town we've got some poverty levels that have continued for generations. As you look at the scores, it's right there in front of you."

The key to altering course, McMillin suggests, is more coordination across schools to make sure students are well-prepared for the demands of each grade level. And while he admits “good stuff doesn’t sell in the media,” he says by focusing on the positive and targeting lingering achievement gaps at Bryan Station, perceptions of the school will shift over time.

Josh James fell in love with college radio at Western Kentucky University's student station, New Rock 92 (now Revolution 91.7). After working as a DJ and program director, he knew he wanted to come home to Lexington and try his hand in public radio.
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