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Success Story

Bullitt County Public Schools Overcomes Staffing Shortage

The Challenge

Bullitt County Public Schools (BCPS) in Shepherdsville, Kentucky serves 13,000 students across middle and high schools. As the new academic year approached, the district faced a critical staffing shortage—7 unfilled teaching positions, primarily in science—putting nearly 1,000 students at risk of disrupted instruction.

  • Only one science teaching candidate at the University of Louisville
  • Western Kentucky University science majors opting for higher-paying non-teaching roles
  • Urgent need to maintain rigorous, state-aligned science instruction without local hires

As Dr. Amy Compton, Director of Secondary Education, noted: “There’s nobody out there.” BCPS needed an immediate, scalable way to protect college and career readiness in core science courses.

Why Subject.com

Drawing on lessons from successful digital learning during the pandemic, BCPS partnered with Subject.com to ensure continuity in science instruction district-wide.

The plan included three Subject teachers of record (district-wide) to meet Kentucky certification and reporting requirements, plus seven on-site instructional tutors—one for each unfilled classroom—to guide day-to-day learning and support students.

Subject’s courses are aligned to state standards and delivered through an engaging digital platform. Assistant Superintendent Dr. Adrienne Usher described the approach as necessary “outside-of-the-box thinking” to solve an urgent problem.

Student Impact

Students continued accessing high-quality, state-aligned science instruction without interruption. On-site tutors reinforced lessons, answered questions, and maintained the rhythms of a traditional classroom.

Early indicators show increased test scores for students in the program, reflecting not just maintained pace but improved performance.

Training time is built into district “Bullitt Days,” and results are actively monitored for continuous improvement.

Results

BCPS launched upon board approval—stabilizing science classrooms across middle and high schools.

  • Protected learning continuity for ~1,000 students across unfilled science sections
  • Maintained compliance with state certification and reporting
  • Delivered on-site instructional support to uphold classroom norms and engagement
  • Reported test score increases in Subject-supported science courses

Superintendent Dr. Jesse Bacon underscored that specialized certifications like science and math will remain hard to hire locally. Subject.com gives BCPS a scalable, repeatable model to keep critical courses running—and students on track.