Jefferson County Public Schools looks to fulfill a $1.1 billion facilities need with the construction of three new schools — the Grace James Academy of Excellence, the W.E.B. DuBois Academy + a new middle school in West Louisville.
It’s part of a proposal that would cost $114.2 million + allow West Louisville students to choose schools closer to home and decrease overcrowding in existing ones. If the plan is approved, construction could begin within the next four years .
JCPS, which is home to about 96,000 students — roughly one in seven Kentuckians — looks to spend $39.9 million each on the new Grace James + W.E.B. DuBois schools which will hold 1,050 students each in grades six through 12.
Here are some quick facts about the three schools:
Grace James Academy of Excellence:
- The Academy was established in 2020 + currently occupies the former Roosevelt-Perry Elementary school near the West Louisville YMCA at 1615 W. Broadway.
- It’s an all-girls magnet middle school named after Dr. Grace Marilynn James , a local pediatrician who became the first African American physician at both the University of Louisville School of Medicine and Louisville Children’s Hospital.
- Its students are called the Grace James G.E.M.S. — girls excelling in math and science — a nod to the school’s Afrocentric, STEAM education-focused curriculum.
W.E.B. DuBois Academy:
- The school was established in 2018 at 3307 E. Indian Trail in the former Liberty High School building.
- It’s an all-boys magnet middle school where each student receives a Chrome Book or iPad — making its student to technology ratio 1:1.
- Once the Academy moves into its new facility, its current building could become a new magnet school called Minor Daniels Middle School.
Proposed new middle school:
- The district looks to spend $34.3 million to construct the new, 1,000-student middle school in West Louisville.
- A new high school is also possible for West Louisville, though the middle school development is currently taking precedence at this time.