LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Construction is underway on a new elementary school for Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) students.

What You Need To Know

  • JCPS breaks ground on new elementary school in southwest Louisville

  • School is scheduled to open in August 2022

  • New school is only the third to be built by JCPS in past 10 years

  • Students from Wilkerson, Watson Lane elementary schools will go to new school

The district broke ground on the 82,532-square-foot, $17 million school in the Dixie Highway corridor in southwest Louisville. The school, scheduled to open August 2022, will be located on a large tract of JCPS-owned land behind Wilkerson Elementary School.

 

 

 

It will be only the third school built by JCPS in the past 10 years, and the first in southwest Louisville since Farnsley Middle School's opening in 1998. Just last week, JCPS broke ground on a new elementary school in the Newburg neighborhood. The other JCPS school recently built was Norton Commons Elementary School in 2016.

Once opened, students who would have attended Wilkerson and Watson Lane elementary schools will go to the new, currently unnamed school while Wilkerson will be torn down. It's unclear what the future holds for the Watson Lane property.

“JCPS is committed, with voters’ help, to building many more of these modern learning centers all over Jefferson County,” said JCPS Superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio. “These are the kind of investments in state-of-the art schools that have been proven to enhance learning and build community among students and staff.”

The school's design will feature:

  • Two stories with classrooms, art, computer and media rooms, and open spaces for collaborative learning and outdoor classes;
  • "Neighborhoods" of classrooms meant to promote collaboration and 1-on-1 interactions;
  • A gym that will also serve as a tornado shelter;
  • Energy efficient windows, lighting and plumbing;
  • Goethermal heating and cooling; and
  • A line of mature trees which will be retained and protected during contruction.

JCPS said the size of the site will allow for future expansion, if needed.

“The students, parents and teachers who live in neighborhoods near Wilkerson and Watson Lane deserve to have a school building they can be proud of,” said JCPS District Four school board member Joe Marshall. “This won’t be just a learning center but a community gathering space for the people who live in this area.”

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