LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Jefferson County Public Schools kicked off the school year Tuesday morning with virtual learning. While a different first day for all schools, Grace James Academy of Excellence experienced an interesting start to its inaugural year.
The academy is an all-girls STEAM middle school, focusing on science technology, engineering, art and math through an Afrocentric curriculum.
Named after Grace James, a doctor who advocated for better healthcare and stronger social supports for black families, the school's inaugural sixth grade class has 150 girls.
One of those 150 girls is 11-year-old Cadence Diggs.
"I’m most looking forward to meeting new friends and seeing my old ones and meeting the new teachers and administration," Diggs said.
A majority of the students at the school are girls of color, something that attracted Diggs.
“I wanted to apply to Grace James Academy because I’m going to be surrounded in an environment that’s like my own,” Diggs said.
The focus of the school is to prepare girls, specifically girls of color, for careers in STEAM fields, where they are often underrepresented.
“Most jobs in the future, if not all jobs in the future, are going to require the integration of science, technology, engineering and math,” Principal Ronda Cosby said.
Cosby said it is important that girls are made aware of the opportunities they could have now and tap into the skills they already have in the STEAM fields.
“We have to get them now and early so that we have a balanced field of stemisnists,” Cosby said.
Not only will the school teach girls skills that will help them in the future, it will also teach those skills with an emphasis on the social and emotional growth of its students.
Even though classes are starting virtually, some students have already toured the school with hopes of going to in-person classes if JCPS deems it possible later in the semester.
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