LOUISVILLE,Ky — Over 100 students from JCPS’s Newcomer Academy took a walking tour of downtown Louisville Thursday. They aim the outing at teaching the country’s newest students the history and culture of Louisville. 

What You Need To Know

  • Newcomer Academy is for students who’ve recently immigrated to the U.S.

  • The tour took students to places of cultural significance in downtown Louisville

  • Stops included museums, city hall, and the Cathedral of Assumption

  • York statue sculptor Ed Hamilton also spoke with students

 

“When they come to the United States, mostly they come to save their lives,” Antonio Perez Fernandez, a teacher at Newcomer Academy, said.

These students all immigrated to this country in search of a better life and are all adjusting to the new country. Their walking tour took them to places like the Cathedral of Assumptions, city hall, and various museums.

Fernandez said most of the students on the tour have only been in the U.S. for around a year. Today aimed to show them additional parts of the city beyond their homes and school. 

“What is the product of the hard work of American people in here, so they should identify with this, improving their own goals, right? So, I can be part of this big enterprise, you know,” Fernandez said. 

The tours ended at the Belvedere where students met sculptor Ed Hamilton.

Ed Hamilton tells the story of York to Newcomer Academy students (Spectrum News 1/Mason Brighton))

Hamilton created the bronze statue of York, the slave of William Clark, who took part in the Lewis and Clark expedition.

One of the student’s teachers said they wanted the kids to hear York’s story, to know that no matter where they are from, they can make a difference in the world. 

“I want them to believe that there is home, that there are many people in America who welcome them, people that have pressured through their own live to reach their own levels of success but now want to reach back and help others who were just beginning their American journey,“ Scott Wade said