Caulk Chats up Commerce Lexington

Advocates Cradle to Career services for students to

live, learn and earn in Fayette Co

FCPS Superintendent Manny Caulk chatted with my ol' buddy Alan Stein at last week's Commerce Lexington breakfast. Mr. Baseball lobs his first great question @8:15.

Caulk shared stories about simple acts of kindness and community that helped shape his view of school as a young child going through desegregation as a child of poverty. He recalls the teacher who first got his attention, and the service workers - such as the bus driver (the first caring adult the students see) who kept books on the bus for the long ride to and from the formerly white-only school, and the cafeteria workers whose smiles and kindness meant so much to the hungry children.

Caulk also shared the Fayette County schools' transition from a small suburban district to a larger, more urban district. My colleague Roger Clevelend has been talking about this noteworthy shift for a couple of years now and Caulk put some numbers to it.

The Fayette Co schools ...where the 29 red schools are rated as "needs improvement"...