Public schools in Louisville, Kentucky

There are more than 145 public schools in Louisville, Kentucky, servicing nearly 100,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade (K–12) education. The primary public education provider is Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS); the City of Anchorage operates the Anchorage Independent School District (AISD), including one school, Anchorage School, for K-8 education.

Schools are typically categorized as elementary, middle or high schools, though some exceptions exist. The Brown School offers education for all grades in one school. Moore Traditional School is a combined middle and high school (formerly two separate schools). The Anchorage School is the sole school of AISD, educating for grades K-8.

Contents

Elementary schools

Public elementary schools provide education through fifth grade (approx. age 11, depending on the student). Some elementary schools offer pre-kindergarten programs.

Picture School name Opening date[1] Origin of name and other information
Atkinson Elementary School 1902 Joseph B. Atkinson, longtime city school board member
Auburndale Elementary School 1924 Located in Auburndale neighborhood
Audubon Traditional Elementary School 1954

John J. Audubon, painter and bird enthusiast

Bates Elementary School 1955 James H. Bates, longtime chairman of the Jefferson County Board of Education

home of Safety City (a miniaturized city with 'go-cart' automobiles designed to teach students safe habits)

Blake Elementary School 1970
Bloom Elementary School 1896 I.N. Bloom; physician, City of Louisville Board of Education member 1911–1922, and first Board president
Blue Lick Elementary School 1966 located on Blue Lick Road
Bowen Elementary School 1969 known as "the greatest school on earth"
Brandeis Elementary School 1913 Albert S. Brandeis
Breckinridge-Franklin Elementary School 1999 merger of John C. Breckinridge Elementary and Benjamin Franklin Elementary Schools in 2000
Byck Elementary School 1961 Dann Conrad Byck, member of the Louisville Board of Aldermen and member of the City of Louisville Board of Education 1955–1959
Camp Taylor Elementary School 1917 located in Camp Taylor neighborhood, site of Camp Zachary Taylor 1917–1921
Cane Run Elementary School 1832[2] located on Cane Run Road. The school was originally housed in a log cabin, and may have had as many of seven different buildings. Present building constructed in 1972.
Carter Traditional School 1918 Jessie R. Carter
Chancey Elementary School 2002 Malcom B. Chancey, local business leader who established the Jefferson County Public Education Foundation
Chenoweth Elementary School 1954 located near Chenoweth Lane
Cochran Elementary School 1900 Gavin H. Cochran
Cochrane Elementary School 1968 Garland S. Cochrane
Coleridge-Taylor Elementary School 1969[3] composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Coral Ridge Elementary School 1971 located in the Coral Ridge neighborhood
Crums Lane Elementary School 1962 located on Crums Lane
Dixie Elementary School 1960 located behind Valley Traditional High School, on Dixie Highway
Dunn Elementary School 1972
Eisenhower Elementary School 1972 U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower (and General over Allied Forces WWII)
Engelhard Elementary School 1919
Fairdale Elementary School 1913 located in the Fairdale community
Farmer Elementary School 2007 James E. Farmer[4], teacher, principal and deputy superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools until 1976[5].
Fern Creek Elementary School 1911[2] Located in the Fern Creek community. The earliest building directly related to the present school was constructed in 1911. There was first a log-cabin school was opened in area around 1792. That building, however, cannot be directly linked to the present-day school.
Field Elementary School 1915 Emmet Field
Foster Academy 1917 composer Stephen Foster ("My Old Kentucky Home")
Frayser Elementary School 1925 Nannie Lee Frayser
Gilmore Lane Elementary School 1955 located on Gilmore Lane
Goldsmith Elementary School 1955 located on Goldsmith Lane
Southeast Christian Church, now one of the largest Protestant churches in the U.S., held its first service at the school in July 1962, and met there until it purchased its first property in October of that year.[6]
Greathouse/Shryock Traditional Elementary School 1980 Created with the merger of Greathouse Elementary (named for longtime teacher and principal Miss Tommie Greathouse) and Shryock Elementary (named for Gideon Shryock, architect)
Greenwood Elementary School 1957[7] located on Greenwood Road
Gutermuth Elementary School 1970 Leona Gutermuth
Hartstern Elementary School 1969 Fred J. Hartstern, chief architect of the old Louisville Board of Education. He later created his own firm which designed over 45 school buildings including Ballard and Moore High Schools.
Hawthorne Elementary School 1954 located in Hawthorne neighborhood
Hazelwood Elementary School 1951[8] located in Iroquois Homes/Hazelwood neighborhood
Hite Elementary School 1963 Jane Glass Hite (longtime educator)
Indian Trail Elementary School 1959 located on Indian Trail
Jacob Elementary School 1932 Richard Taylor Jacob
Jeffersontown Elementary School 1870s located in the city of Jeffersontown
Johnsontown Road Elementary School 1967[9] located on Johnsontown Road
Kennedy Montessori School 1964 U.S. President John F. Kennedy
Kenwood Elementary School 1955 located in Kenwood neighborhood
Kerrick Elementary School 1876 Charles H., George, and Harry Kerrick who donated land for the original school
King Elementary School 1969 civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr.
Klondike Lane Elementary School 1971 located on Klondike Lane
Laukhuf Elementary School 1974 Louis H.C. & Emily Laukhuf (educators for 55½ years; 33½ years in Jefferson County)
Layne Elementary School 1969
Lincoln Elementary School 1966 U.S. President Abraham Lincoln
Lowe Elementary School 1974 John Lowe (retired principal from Lyndon Elementary and Waggener High School)
Luhr Elementary School 1966 Mattie B. Luhr
Maupin Elementary School 1985 Originally Parkland Elementary School, renamed for Milburn Taylor Maupin, first African-American central office administrator in the Louisville Public Schools. Served as interim superintendent January-June 1975 and retired as deputy superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools in 1978.
McFerran Preparatory Academy 1919 John B. McFerran, land company president who donated land for Jeffersontown Elementary
Medora Elementary School 1880s located in Medora neighborhood
Middletown Elementary School 1909 located in the city of Middletown
Mill Creek Elementary School bef. 1876[2] Earliest records place school's existence on/or before 1876. The current building was opened in 1970.
Minors Lane Elementary School 1968 located on Minors Lane
Norton Elementary School 1917 Jane M. Norton, former school board member and WAVE-TV president
Okolona Elementary School 1924 located in Okolona community
Portland Elementary School 1853[10] located in Portland neighborhood
Price Elementary School 1969 Sarah Jacob Price, school's first principal
Rangeland Elementary School located on Rangeland Road
Roosevelt-Perry Elementary School 1979 Formed as result of merger between the Roosevelt School and Perry Elementary school in 1979. The original schools were for President Theodore Roosevelt and William H. Perry, Sr. (principal of the Western Colored School 1891–1927)respectively.
Rutherford Elementary School 1951 Sally B. Rutherford
St. Matthews Elementary School 1955 located in the city of St. Matthews
Sanders Elementary School 1962
Schaffner Traditional School 1955 named after Henry B. Schaffner, member of the Kentucky Board of Education
Semple Elementary School 1932 Named for Ellen Churchill Semple in 1932, geographer and educator who was a member of a group of scholars advising President Woodrow Wilson at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 (to end WWI). This school has a reading and math average under the school district and state average. A LOT of people don't recommend to go to that school.
Shacklette Elementary School 1966
Shelby Elementary School before 1850 Isaac Shelby, Kentucky's first governor

The school was originally constructed by German immigrants. It was purchased by the Louisville Board of Education in 1868.

Slaughter Elementary School 1967 Horace B. Slaughter
Smyrna Elementary School 1961 located in Smyrna neighborhood
Stonestreet Elementary School 1958 Rosa Phillips Stonestreet, only female superintendent in the history of public education in Louisville's old City Board of Education.
Stopher Elementary School 2007 Joseph E. Stopher[4], attorney and president of Gheens Foundation, a non-profit organization supporting education projects[11].
Trunnell Elementary School[12] 1967 Bertha Trunnell[4], long time educator in Jefferson County's south end. Trunnell's dedication ceremony took place on October 19, 1967. The school was built on farmland purchased from Clem Wiser. The Wiser family had farmed the land for 150 years (it was first settled by Charles Wiser in the 1800s).
Tully Elementary School 1978 Roberta B. Tully

Built on site of the original Jeffersontown Elementary.

Watson Lane Elementary School 1956 located on Watson Lane
Watterson Elementary School 1970 Henry Watterson, prominent Louisville newspaper editor and namesake of the Watterson Expressway
Wellington Elementary School 1968 Sara Belle Wellington
Wheatley Elementary School 1911 Phillis Wheatley, former slave and poet (first African American woman to publish a book of poetry)
Wheeler Elementary School 1969 Virginia Wheeler
Wilder Elementary School 1957 Ninde S. Wilder
Wilkerson Elementary School 1956 Sylvia Wilkerson
Wilt Elementary School 1967 Paxton Wilt
Young Elementary School 1971 Whitney Moore Young, Jr., social worker and civil rights leader, became executive director of the National Urban League in 1961 and the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969.
Zachary Taylor Elementary School 1959 U.S. President Zachary Taylor

Middle schools

Middle schools provide education for grades 6-8, typically ages 11–14.

Picture School name Opening date[13] Origin of name and other information
Barret Traditional Middle School 1932 Alex G. Barret, Louisville Board of Education member (president in 1918) and Jefferson Circuit Court Judge
Carrithers Middle School 1973 Virginia P. Carrithers
Conway Middle School 1972 Aubrey Conway, Jefferson County Board of Education member and community advocate
Crosby Middle School 1974[14] The only middle school in Kentucky with a piano laboratory/class elective.
Farnsley Middle School 1998 School was built on historic land owned by David Farnsley (longtime mayor of Louisville).
Frederick Law Olmsted Academy North 1928 Frederick Law Olmsted, landscape architect who designed Louisville's major urban parks and system of urban parkways.
Originally Southern Middle School, from its location in the southern section of pre-merger Louisville. Later renamed Southern Leadership Academy to reflect revised class organization of single-sex classes. Now an all-boys school.
Frederick Law Olmsted Academy South 1956 Frederick Law Olmsted
This facility was formerly Rubado Elementary School, Gottschalk Junior High School, and later Iroquois Middle School. Now an all-girls school.
Frost Middle School 1966[15] Robert Frost, poet
Highland Middle School 1928 located in the Highlands neighborhood
Jefferson County Traditional Middle School 1976 third site of the first traditional middle school program in Jefferson County/located in the former Woerner Alternative Middle School building/previously J.M. Atherton High School for Girls (school of integrity)
Thomas Jefferson Middle School 1981 Thomas Jefferson, President of the United States/previously Thomas Jefferson High School 1964–1981.
Johnson Traditional Middle School 1930, 1981[16] Originally named Parkland Junior High School; renamed in 1981 in honor of Lyman Tefft Johnson, a civil rights leader, teacher at Central High School for 33 years, and former assistant principal at Parkland Junior High School. He was the principal plaintiff in the federal court case regarding the desegregation of schools in Jefferson County. Served as Board Member 1978–1982.
Kammerer Middle School 1972 Margaret Kammerer, former music educator in the Jefferson County Public School system
Kennedy Metro Middle School 1996 Alex R. Kennedy, previously Alex R. Kennedy Elementary School
Knight Middle School 1973 Theron Turner Knight, a 42-year Jefferson County educator[17]
Lassiter Middle School 1973 O.M. Lassiter
Meyzeek Middle School 1967,

1977[18]

Originally named Jackson Junior High, renamed in honor of Albert Ernest Meyzeek, civil rights activist and educator who served as the school's principal for a number of years. Was one of the founders of the Louisville Urban League, which he chaired for 29 years. He also served on the state Board of Education 1948–1956.
Myers Middle School 1972 Mary P. Myers
Newburg Middle School located in the Newburg neighborhood
Noe Middle School 1974 Samuel V. Noe, former Superintendent of the old Louisville Public School District
Stuart Middle School 1980 Jesse Stuart, distinguished Kentucky poet and novelist (The school was previously Stuart High School.)
Western Middle School 1929[19] located in Western Louisville
Westport Traditional Middle School and Fine Arts Academy 1961[20] located on Westport Road (previously Westport High School)

High schools

High school begins at grade 9 (approx. age 14), running through grade 12 (approx. age 18).

Picture School name Opening date Origin of name and other information
Atherton High School 1923 J.M. Atherton High School for Girls (at a different location) was named after John McDougal Atherton, a local businessman and politician. He was instrumental in changing Louisville's school system administration from trustees to a Board of Education members.[21]
Ballard High School 1968 The high school is named for Bland W. Ballard, 1761–1853, after whom Ballard County in the state's far-west Purchase area is also named.
Breckinridge Metropolitan High School 2001 previous site of John C. Breckinridge Elementary School

The school has a structured learning environment for students with disciplinary problems and those placed by court order.

Buechel Metropolitan High School 1983 located at the former Bashford Manor Middle School site in the Buechel neighborhood

The school offers a structured learning environment for students with disciplinary issues.

Butler Traditional High School 1954 Suda E. Butler
Central High School 1882 This school was originally called Central Colored High School. It was Louisville's first African American high school.
Doss High School MCA 1967 Harry Doss
DuPont Manual High School 1892 The school was originally called duPont Manual Training High School, named for Alfred Victor duPont, a local entrepreneur. The main building housed Louisville Girls' High until it merged into Manual in 1950.
Eastern High School 1950 Located in the city of Middletown in eastern Jefferson County
Fairdale High School MCA 1958 Located in the Fairdale community, southern Jefferson County
Fern Creek Traditional High School 1923[22] located in the Fern Creek community
Iroquois High School MCA located in the Iroquois neighborhood near Iroquois Park
Jeffersontown High School MCA 1925, 1966 Located in the city of Jeffersontown

A fire, in the 1940s, heavily damaged the gym and cafeteria. This fire plus the opening of Eastern High School in 1950 caused the high school to be closed. The original building (located on same lot as present-day Tully Elementary) was used as an elementary school until it was demolished in 1975. The school was re-established at its present location in 1966 following petition by residents of Jeffersontown.

Jefferson County High School 1986 The school was established in 1986 as an open-entry/open-exit program, allowing students to obtain a diploma through flexible scheduling. The school also operates JCPS's Independent Study Program.
Liberty High School 1997 The school opened in 1997 at the site of now closed Bruce Middle School. It serves as a non-traditional program for students needing an alternative educational environment, especially those who have encountered academic difficulties.
Louisville Male High School 1856 The school originally accepted boys only as students (there was a Louisville Female High School for the ladies, which became Louisville Girls High School in 1911 and merged into duPont Manual in 1950). In 1952, when Male went coeducational, the name changed to Louisville Male and Girls High School, but was reverted to Male High School due to protests by faculty, alumni and students of both genders. It moved from the downtown location in 1991 to the site of the old Durrett High School campus.
Pleasure Ridge Park High School MCA 1952 Located in the Pleasure Ridge Park community
Seneca High School MCA 1957
Shawnee High School MCA 1928[23] Located in the Shawnee neighborhood
Southern High School 1951[24] Llocated in southern Jefferson County, 8620 Preston Highway, Louisville, KY 40219
Valley Traditional High School 1937 Located in the Valley Station community
Waggener Traditional High School 1954 Mayme S. Waggener, principal of the old Greathouse Elementary School 1918–1946 in St. Matthews
Western MST Magnet High School 1961[25] Located in the western section of pre-merger Louisville.
Youth Performing Arts School 1977 The school offers extensive instruction in performing arts, providing academic classes through duPont Manual High School.

Other/Combined

School name Opening date Origin of name and other information
Anchorage School operated by the Anchorage Independent School District, offers an K-8 education (including special needs classes)
The Brown School 1972 offers K–12 education

named after James Graham Brown, a local real estate developer, horse breeder, distiller, and philanthropist

Moore Traditional School 1969 Marion C. Moore, an educator Jefferson County Public Schools and administrator at Fern Creek High School 1926–1967

Moore Traditional Middle School added in 1999/presently operates as a combined school with a single principal

References

  1. ^ http://media.jefferson.k12.ky.us/groups/jcpshistory/search/?tag=elementary+schools&startIndex=0 JCPS History, Elementary School
  2. ^ a b c JCPS - In Search of Schoolhouses
  3. ^ Building dedication plaque
  4. ^ a b c Jefferson County Board of Education Index of Minutes - November 13, 2006
  5. ^ Farmer Elementary School - About James E. Farmer
  6. ^ "Beginnings: 1962–1976". About Southeast: History. Southeast Christian Church. http://www.southeastchristian.org/?page=3442#beg. Retrieved May 31, 2011. 
  7. ^ Greenwood Elementary School, School Report Card, 2004–2005
  8. ^ Dedication plaque for school reads "ERECTED 1950-51" - presumably, school opened fall 1951
  9. ^ Johnsontown Road Elementary School, School Report Card, 2004–2005
  10. ^ Probable date based on caption at JCPS Library & Media Services page
  11. ^ Stopher Elementary - About Joseph E. Stopher
  12. ^ Template talk:Kentucky-school-stub
  13. ^ http://media.jefferson.k12.ky.us/groups/jcpshistory/search/?tag=middle+schools&startIndex=0 JCPS History, Middle School
  14. ^ 30th anniversary commemorative plaque/picture in main office
  15. ^ Robert Frost Middle School, School Report Card 2004–2005
  16. ^ Johnson Traditional Middle School, School Report Card 2004–2005
  17. ^ Knight Middle School, School Report Card, 2004–2005
  18. ^ Meyzeek Middle School, JCPS History
  19. ^ Western Middle School, School Report Card, 2004–2005
  20. ^ Westport Middle School, School Report Card, 2004–2005
  21. ^ Kleber, John E., et al. (editor) (2000). The Encyclopedia of Louisville. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-2100-0. 
  22. ^ FCTHS -- School History
  23. ^ (based on date of December 20, 1927 on dedication plaque)
  24. ^ Southern High School MCA School Report Card, 2004–2005
  25. ^ Western MST High School - About Western