LOUISVILLE, Ky. — School leaders in Jefferson County are proposing a new home for an all-girls academy which specializes in subjects such as math and science.

What You Need To Know

  • JCPS is proposing relocating the Grace James Academy of Excellence to Roosevelt-Perry Elementary School at the start of the next school year

  • Under the plan, Roosevelt-Perry students would move to Wheatley Elementary or another school

  • Roosevelt-Perry and Wheatley were already scheduled to merge

  • Leaders expect to break ground on the new school in the next two months

 

The plan also involves potential changes for students at two other schools. 

Two years ago, the Jefferson County Board of Education approved a plan to build a new elementary school at 18th and Broadway, behind the West Louisville YMCA, according to Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) Superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio.

The school will be the future home of a new elementary school made up of Roosevelt-Perry Elementary School and Wheatley Elementary School students, he said. 

JCPS is proposing temporarily moving Roosevelt-Perry students to Wheatley, Pollio said at a news conference Monday. 

“We will be offering multiple options for families if they choose to go to another school, but those students will have that option and the same with faculty members," he said. 

Under the plan, the two student populations would come together before the new school is finished, said Diane Porter, chair of the Jefferson County Board of Education.

"The goal is for them to develop friendships with each other, to be familiar with those teachers that will make the move into the new school so that there’s less anxiety," she said. 

The proposal would allow the Grace James Academy of Excellence to move to Roosevelt-Perry with room to expand at the start of the next school year, leaders said. 

The all-girls science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) middle school opened last August.

It has an Afrocentric curriculum and is currently located in a shared space at the DuValle Education Center.

"Having talked to people recently, they were very happy to know that the Grace James Academy was coming to this facility, so I am hopeful that this will be combining of children, education and the community, bringing the community along with us," Porter said. 

Leaders expect to break ground on the new school within the next two months and estimated it could be ready in late 2022 or early 2023, according to Pollio. 

The district said it would determine the future of Wheatley Elementary once the students and staff move to the new school. 

The board will begin discussions on Tuesday with a vote expected by the middle of the month, according to a news release. 

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