JCPS celebrates historic opening of Perry Elementary in western Louisville

For a second day in a row, Louisville's education and city leaders celebrated a historic day for the West End with the opening of another school, William H. Perry Elementary.

The school - which is attached to the YMCA at 18th and Broadway - is the first new building Jefferson County Public Schools has built in western Louisville since 2000.

"Buildings are important, buildings are critical," JCPS Superintendent Marty Pollio said ahead of Friday's ribbon cutting. "It is symbolic to the kids when they walk in this school and they know we are investing in them."

The school will welcome about 650 students from the California and Russell neighborhoods, who will learn that the man behind its name is a Central High alum who went on to become the first Black physician licensed in Kentucky. Most of the school's students come from the former Wheatley Elementary, as do their teachers and principal.

The school's board member, Diane Porter, spoke before the ribbon cutting about the historic moment for the district and the community.

"It is hurtful it has taken us so long to get where we are, but we are now moving in the right direction," she said.

The building, which cost about $28 million, offers collaboration spaces for each grade, flexible classrooms with removable walls, a library media center and meeting spaces for the community. It's proximity to the Y will allow students to use its gym and pool, along with other opportunities JCPS and the Y will partner on to offer, Pollio said.

Contact reporter Krista Johnson at kjohnson3@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: JCPS opens Perry Elementary in western Louisville