Last week, our top-read story was about the controversial evangelical group that conducted a seminar at Gheens Academy, part of Jefferson County Public Schools.
Louisville Area Christian Educator Support, or LACES, leased meeting space at Gheens. LACES is affiliated with Southeast Christian Church, and the seminar addressed how evangelicals can act as missionaries in the classroom. Which led to us getting a lot of emails.
Sensational news reports about the LACES meeting – not on Insider Louisville – led to teachers and administrators calling JCPS headquarters, “asking for clarity,” said Ben Jackey, JCPS communications specialist.
Several television stations reported LACES members telling teachers at the meeting that they are allowed to teach Creationism and Intelligent Design in the science classroom.
Dr. Donna Hargens, JCPS superintendent, was aware of some of the media reports, Jackey said, and decided to issue an internal JCPS statement to make sure there “are no gray areas,” he said.