LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Flanked by various community and business leaders, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg took part in the groundbreaking of a new private school in the West End on Wednesday.
The tuition-free, all-girls school is located in Louisville's Chickasaw neighborhood and is expected to open in August 2025.
"To promote investments in all nine neighborhoods of West Louisville, to continue to invest in these neighborhoods that have been overlooked for far too long," Greenberg said. "It's so exciting to see that young women are now going to be part of this initiative and this important educational institution in our community."
The new school looks to enroll 150 students in grades pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, first grade and second grade. The school will continue to expand every year, by adding an additional grade through eighth grade.
"There is nothing like having access to better education, right in your own backyard," Metro Councilwoman Tammy Hawkins, D-District 1, said. "These are things that community needs to thrive, and we'll continue to decrease our crime rate."
While there will be no overnight care, unlike the current offerings at the West End all-boys school, the new school will offer before and after school care.
"I think it's developed such a special reputation and has graduated so many fine young men that the girls deserve that same treatment," Lawson Whiting, CEO of Brown-Forman Corp., said. "I think this school for the girls will be a place where they can then really find their own passions, they can find their own talents."
Formal planning for the project began in 2022. In that time, the Brown-Forman Corp. has pledged to donate $20 million over the next 10 years to help fund the West End School boys and girls operations.
Here's a timeline of the current construction plan:
- April 2024: Project underway
- August 2024: Structural steel framing complete
- January 2025: Building shell complete
- June 2025: Project complete
- August 2025: Furnishings and technology complete and ready for school opening
"This school is amazing at drawing out the best in these young kids, and I'm very happy to be part of it," Whiting said.
In total, the all-girls school will cost $11.5 million to build, West End School co-founder Paul Perconti said.
"That [$20 million donation] gave us the strength to have the vision to come together and get on with a fundraiser to build a girls school," Perconti said. "I can tell you right now, as I stand here, we've raised, collected or have had pledged $9.7 million."
School officials have already received applications for the 2025-26 school year.
Over the last 19 years, the West End School has operated with the mission of "...providing a safe, structured environment for boys from low-income households alongside a tuition-free, private school education."
According to a press release, in that time, more than 99% of the school's alumni have gone on to graduate high school, with more than 70% of graduates going on to attend private schools on full scholarships.
For information on donating to the West End Girls School, contact the West End School at (502) 776-5236.
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