Thursday October 16, 2025
Local Connection
Weather
Traffic
@LouisvilleDispatch
@LouisvilleDisp
Subscribe
Central High School today unveiled The Colony maker space, the school’s new home for its proposed Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics (STEM) Innovation magnet program and the centerpiece of its partnership with the University of Louisville J. B. Speed School of Engineering.
In addition to helping create a college-bound culture for underrepresented students, the partnership and maker space aim to encourage more female and minority students to pursue engineering and science studies.
“Think of this as a 21st century shop class, where students can design, and create, and bring their ideas to fruition,” said Central Principal Raymond Green.
Green added that students in the STEM program will study a wide range of foundations – coding, robotics, engineering, even hacking – to give them the skills they need to succeed in an increasingly technology-driven world. The goal, he said, will be for them to graduate from Central with a patent or trademark in their name.
“I’m particularly proud of how student-focused this space is, from the technology and equipment that will be the new norm for students as they continue to study and hone their skills, all the way down to the name they selected for their area,” said Dr. Donna Hargens, superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools. “ ‘The Colony’ is not only a play on Central’s mascot, but a fitting term to describe the teamwork, innovation, and hard work that will go one here.”
The center also creates a foundation for the school’s strong partnership with Speed School. In addition to providing Central with up to five scholarships per year, the engineering school will allow qualifying high school seniors to take freshman-level college classes; will sponsor robotics tournaments and hack-a-thons at the center; and will help write the STEM Innovation curriculum.
“Our goal with these maker space facilities is to increase interest in the STEM fields and to help students grow their self-confidence,” said UofL Acting President Neville Pinto. “Expect to see our Speed School students here working alongside Central students on engineering projects.”
The space is being furnished with $30,000 of prototype furniture gifted from student-focused furniture maker Artcobell and $20,000 of innovative equipment, including 3D printers, laser cutters and robot fields, funded by a Verizon Innovation grant.
The unveiling was held in conjunction with a national conference highlighting dual-credit courses and college partnerships. Central was selected for one of the breakout sessions of the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment (NACEP), to showcase how dual credit opportunities can effectively create a college-going culture for minority students. Two dozen attendees visited Central to learn about its deep partnerships with UofL.
“We know that high quality dual credit can have a powerful impact on students’ postsecondary success, yet fewer opportunities are available to students in the nation’s large urban school districts. Even when those opportunities are present, they tend to be available only to select students in relatively well-off schools,” said NACEP Executive Director Adam Lowe. “We hope that the partnership between the University of Louisville and Central High School will inspire others to commit to developing dual credit opportunities for students who will benefit the most from these programs.”
Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) has named Fairdale High School Principal Brad Weston as Assistant Superintendent for Achievement Area 2.
Weston, who has served as principal since 2011, has led Fairdale through a dramatic academic turnaround during his tenure, including improving statewide assessment scores and adopting the Cambridge International Studies program. A former assistant principal at the high school, he has also worked directly with students as a math teacher and counselor at Fairdale and Doss high schools.
“I’m excited by the opportunity to positively impact several thousand students and several hundred teachers in 28 schools,” Weston said. He said while he will miss working with the Fairdale staff and students, “I am thrilled that this new opportunity will allow me to continue working for and with Fairdale High School.”
“Brad has a proven track record of improving student achievement, and he spent many years as a teacher in the classroom and as a principal,” said JCPS Superintendent Dr. Donna Hargens. “His experience will be invaluable as we look to increase student achievement across Area 2.”
Weston will stay on at the school until his replacement is named.
Weston holds a bachelor’s degree in math from the University of Louisville and a master’s degree in education with an emphasis in secondary school counseling from Western Kentucky University. His Rank 1 in administration is also from WKU.
With thousands of kindergarteners across Louisville successfully starting the school year, a special celebration today recognized one Jefferson County Public School (JCPS) district preschool for helping prepare its students to start classes ready to learn.
At the Unseld Early Learning Center in Newburg this morning, Mayor Greg Fischer, and Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Hargens joined Louisville Free Public Library (LFPL) Director Jim Blanton in congratulating Unseld Center staff for having 100 percent completion in the Library’s 1000 Books Before Kindergarten Challenge last school year. The 1000 Books Before Kindergarten Challenge, a free Louisville Free Public Library program, encourages families, caregivers, and educators to read at least 1,000 books with their young children before kindergarten.
“While 1,000 books may seem like a lot,” Blanton said, “it can be accomplished in less than a year by reading as little as 15 minutes a day—that’s just three picture books.”
The 1000 Books Before Kindergarten Challenge — sponsored by the Library Foundation and the Community Foundation of Louisville — is free and open to children beginning at birth, and their caregivers. Spending just 15 minutes a day reading to preschool-age children builds vocabulary, language skills, and helps prepare them with the skills they need for school.
“We want to encourage all families, caregivers and concerned citizens in Jefferson County to help us create a city where all our kids are reading at least 1,000 books before they enter kindergarten,” said Mayor Fischer. “The people here at the Unseld Early Childhood Center have shown us the way. Because of their work, hundreds of children started kindergarten this fall ready!”
Thanks to the Unseld Center’s commitment to the program, and having all 300 students complete the Challenge, the Center was the recipient of a $500 Barnes & Noble gift card prize drawing from the Library.
“Developing an early habit for reading not only builds our youngest student’s language skills and gets them ready for school, but it pays dividends for years to come by creating a lifelong love for learning,” said JCPS Superintendent Dr. Donna Hargens.
The 1000 Books Before Kindergarten Challenge, which originated at the Bremen Public Library in Bremen, Ind., was launched at the LFPL in January 2014. And the challenge to read has been met with great success. Since the program began, nearly 20,000 children have signed up—with more than 2800 having reached the 1,000 books milestone.
For more information, call (502) 574-1620 or visit LFPL.org/1000Books.
Proposals to build or enhance excellence in the areas of big data, metagenomics and social justice will receive up to $2.25 million in funding over the next three years as part of the University of Louisville’s 21st Century University Initiative.
The proposals, which include nearly every school and college at UofL, were selected after an intense, months-long process that included internal and external review.
The chosen proposals are:
- Big Data Analysis in Medicine – developing new models and learning approaches to analyze and integrate multiple data types to aid clinicians in early diagnosis and identification of high-risk patients for human diseases and disorders
- Program in Metagenomics and Health – identifying potential links between social determinants, microbiome and the prevalence and prognosis of select diseases
- Cooperative Consortium for Transdisciplinary Social Justice Research – establishing a niche area of excellence in social justice transdisciplinary research while better coordinating the university’s existing research and creative activity in this area
As part of the 21st Century University Initiative, UofL sought to enhance programs that show potential to address critical or emerging issues of national significance and that will help define the university as a national leader in these fields. Proposals also had to be interdisciplinary; be innovative and socially significant; provide opportunities for undergraduate and graduate research; and include financial support from the departments in which the proposal originated.
“We were pleased with the quality and quantity of proposals,” Acting President Neville Pinto said. “These three proposals clearly stood out as emerging areas in which we can play a lead role on a national level. Also important, faculty and students from every corner of the university will have the opportunity to play a role in their success.”
Each proposal will receive up to $250,000 per year for up to three years. Principal investigators will submit annual reports on the programs, which will be used to assess their development and determine future funding.
The full reports are available at http://louisville.edu/graduate/news/winning-proposals-from-our-internal-rfp.
Hopkinsville expected to be prime 2017 viewing spot
image: Brocken Inaglory
A former NASA astrophysicist known as “Mr. Eclipse” for his many books and predictions on the phenomenon will visit the University of Louisville to preview the 2017 total solar eclipse for which Kentucky will be a prime viewing spot.
Fred Espenak will speak at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 13 about “The Great American Total Solar Eclipse of 2017” in Comstock Hall, School of Music. The free, public talk is the 2016 Bullitt lecture in astronomy. The annual lecture and reception afterward are intended for the general public.
Espenak, who has witnessed 26 total solar eclipses, will discuss expectations for the Aug. 21 total eclipse, which will be visible from the contiguous United States for the first time since 1979. The maximum viewpoint for the totality of the moon covering the sun will be near Hopkinsville, Ky. Viewers can expect a daytime twilight effect and a glimpse of the sun’s corona.
The scientist retired from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland and now lives in Portal, Ariz., where he operates the Bifrost Astronomical Observatory and runs three eclipse-related websites. His numerous books include “Eclipse Bulletin: Total Solar Eclipse of 2017 August 21,” “Totality: Eclipses of the Sun” and “Get Eclipsed: The Complete Guide to the American Eclipses.” The American Astronomical Union named an asteroid after him in 2003.
UofL’s physics and astronomy department and the Gheens Science Hall and Rauch Planetarium present the annual Bullitt lectures through an endowment established by the family of former U.S. Solicitor General William Marshall Bullitt.
For more information, contact Gerry Williger at 502-852-0821 or gmwill06@louisville.edu or check the physics and astronomy department’s website.
Most comprehensive study of 21st-century health & wellness curriculum involves 25 JCPS schools
Mayor Greg Fischer, Superintendent Donna M. Hargens, Patrick H. Tolan, Ph. D. of the University of Virginia, and Owsley Brown III today announced the launch of full implementation of the Compassionate Schools Project in the Jefferson County Public Schools, as well as four major supporting investments in the effort, totaling $4.4 million.
The announcement came during a press conference at Rutherford Elementary School, where students and an instructor demonstrated exercises from the curriculum.
The Compassionate Schools Project is the most comprehensive study ever undertaken of a 21st-century health and wellness curriculum. Facilitating the integrated development of mind and body, the project interweaves support in academic achievement, mental fitness, health, and compassionate character. The research aims to have a major impact on children’s education nationwide, in terms of academic performance, physical education, character development and child health policies, due to its extraordinary scale of 50 schools and 20,000 children over the project’s seven years.
Last fall, three pilot JCPS schools (Jacob, Cane Run and Slaughter Elementary) implemented the curriculum for all K-5 students twice each week during Practical Living class. The classes served more than 1,300 students and were evaluated and adjusted for optimal teacher and student engagement, schedule integration, age appropriateness and compatibility with the data measurement plan.
Beginning this year, the curriculum is being implemented in 25 schools for two years each, with start dates in 2016 and 2017. Researchers will study these schools throughout implementation, while also gathering data from 25 schools using the traditional Practical Living curriculum for comparison.
“This project is a signature part of our effort to nurture and grow the values of lifelong learning and compassion across Louisville,” said Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer. “Not only are we offering 20,000 young people these practical skills for improved health and focus, but we have also made ourselves a center of education innovation that has the eyes of the country watching us.”
Mindfulness-based instruction, social-emotional skills training and attentive movement are being used increasingly in individual schools across the United States. Initial research indicates potential benefits for both behavior and academic performance. The Compassionate Schools Project is the first to implement and study these skills across a sample representative of an entire school district. It is also the first curriculum to integrate these with skills shown to aid child physical health. If successful, the curriculum can be readily adoptable by school districts across the country.
“This kind of instruction has been shown to increase attention, determination, and self-awareness – all of which are critical if we are going to reach the goals outlined in our strategic plan,” said Dr. Hargens. “While these non-cognitive skills won’t show up on standardized tests, they are increasingly vital to our students’ academic success by building capacity within themselves to self-regulate and make great choices.”
Major supporting investment
The Compassionate Schools Project is funded through collaboration of private philanthropy and local and national foundations, and supported by staff and resources from the University of Virginia and Jefferson County Public Schools System.
Today, the project’s chairman, Owsley Brown III, announced four major grants:
James Graham Brown Foundation of Louisville: $1,000,000
Owsley and Victoire Brown, Christina Lee Brown, and Augusta and Gill Holland: $2,750,000
Hemera Foundation of Boulder, Colo.: $900,000
Paul Tudor Jones and Sonia Jones of Greenwich, Conn: $796,000
“This extraordinary support is a major endorsement of Louisville’s focus on compassion, innovation, and the flourishing of our children. The Compassionate Schools Project brings all of it together and is a model for the entire nation,” said Brown.
Also making key supporting investments are: C.E. and S. Foundation, Margaret Brown de Clercq, Patricia Gabriele and Vincenzo Gabriele, and the Gheens Foundation. The total raised to date is $6.4 million.
“Of the programs we’ve seen in almost ten years of grant making, few have had as much potential as the Compassionate Schools Project,” said Rob Kaufold, Executive Director of the Hemera Foundation. We see this as a unique opportunity to make a significant advance in research on the application and benefit of mindful awareness practice within education.”
The Compassionate Schools Project aligns with state and federal standards for health, physical education, nutrition, social and emotional learning and the Common Core standards. The project adds a new instructor in each school where the curriculum is being implemented, enhancing the Jefferson County Public Schools’ existing leadership and excellence in wellness education. Over the span of this funded project, more than 10,000 elementary school-aged students will be served.
More information is available at compassionschools.org.
Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) is calling on local businesses and organizations to recruit volunteers for Make the Connection, a JCPS initiative providing seventh-grade students across the district the opportunity to speak with caring community adults about the importance of planning for college and a career.
Each October, the Make the Connection program connects JCPS seventh graders with professionals who volunteer an hour of time speaking with the students at school about their career and the path that got them there. Volunteers from a range of occupations visit schools and conduct two 30-minute sessions with the students.
“Our valued community partners are a critical asset to the district and our students as we prepare them for college and for their future careers,” said JCPS Superintendent Dr. Donna Hargens. “That’s why we’re asking 800 volunteers to give one hour of their time between Oct. 5 and Oct. 31 to share with our students about the importance of planning for their future. With these students at a transitional point in their lives, the Make the Connection program provides citizens a meaningful opportunity to help guide them as they look ahead to high school, explore careers and learn what it takes to work in an industry that interests them.”
To get involved, businesses and organizations can click here to find a date, time and location. Those interested in volunteering may also call the JCPS Office of Business Partnerships at 502-485-3995 for additional information.