LOUISVILLE, Ky. — One of Louisville’s largest companies is joining forces with Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) to make sure students and their families are getting the help they need during remote learning.

What You Need To Know

  • JCPS and Humana team up to help students and families

  • JCPS 360° Student & Family Support Center at Humana offer assistance

  • Superintendent says these opportunities will enhance academic success.

  • Center is open Monday-Friday by appointment

With school districts like Jefferson County partaking in full distance learning this fall amid the coronavirus pandemic, some parents like Danielle Coleman are looking for ways to beef up this remote learning.

Coleman tells Spectrum News 1, "It’s extremely important, it’s essential. If this is what our norm is going to be then I would like to be able to know that he’s comfortable with the process."

Her son Darius is a freshman this year and both are continuing to navigate the new normal of remote learning.

“You want your child to be successful so you want to make sure that he has as much access to. Technology is our world today so for him to understand it and for me to understand it, he has to understand it as well,” explains Coleman.

Luckily, there is an abundance of resources for families like Coleman’s during these uncertain times with the opening of JCPS 360° Student and Family Support Center, all of which are free.

Coleman says the new service center is a lifesaver.

“Everything was accessible, everything was easy to get up here to the room, there was people guiding us all the way through the process so it was extremely easy,” adds Coleman.

In helping students thrive, Humana has donated two floors in its Waterside Building to JCPS. The center directly serves parents with students to enhance and promote family involvement with the district.

The center is designed to step forward and provide information and services in a single place such as IT support with computers, parent portal support, language translation services, enrollment, and school choice information, and Louisville Metro Office of Resilience and Community Services.

 “As we think about one of the most important aspects of our community today is children’s education and how we can bring that alive and be a part of that,’ explains Bruce Broussard, Humana President, and CEO.

 “We thought what a great opportunity this would be to have a building that is centrally located, families can access very easily, but at the same time we have a large building with a lot of space and a lot of opportunities for social distancing,” says Dr. Marty Pollio, Superintendent of JCPS.

Dr. Pollio says the community collaboration between the district and Humana in offering these kinds of services for families is paramount. He says these opportunities will enhance academic success.

“When you’re planning it you’re talking about a lot of things on a piece of paper, but when you actually see a mother and a child getting the service they need that’s the best part of it all,” adds Dr. Pollio.

Education officials emphasized that tailoring these offerings in this current learning environment is nevertheless important.

“We’re thinking beyond COVID-19 and so yes we want to provide as much support as we can to families right now, but passed Covid-19 we’re thinking about how we can make education look different now as a result of some of these things.

The JCPS 360° Student & Family Support Center at Humana, located at 101 E. Main St., is available by appointment Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (subject to change) through at least the end of the year.