The consolidated Christian County High School is set to open in August for the upcoming academic year, and Executive Principal Ken Carver provided a tour of the campus on Thursday, as construction starts wrapping up.
The new school is at the corner of Lovers Lane and Fort Campbell Boulevard, and will combine the student bodies of Hopkinsville High School, Christian County High School and Gateway Academy. The tour was given to members of the community and Focus 21st Century Minority Leadership.
The school is split into four academies: the Agriculture and Skilled Trades Academy; the Business, Engineering and Manufacturing Academy; the Health and Community Services Academy and the Freshman Success Academy.
The tour began in the Agriculture and Skilled Trades Academy, which is the closest to completion. Along with housing core and career-focused classes, each academy will have a library media center.
Carver says they plan to create makerspaces in each library where students can use a 3D printer and also possibly become the student-worker overseeing the use of the equipment.
Students at the school will have more access to dual enrollment courses, being located right across the street from the Murray State University’s Regional Campus. Carver says CCPS will be the first school district to partner with Murray State and receive in-person instruction from professors.
The tour then continued to the cafeteria, which can seat around 500 students, and then onto the front office, where Carver highlighted the school’s security measures for visitors. Before anyone can enter the school, He says they will need a front office worker to grant them access through three doors, as well as sign in.
Carver then guided attendees to the auxiliary and competition gymnasiums, and he says both of the courts align with college court size regulations. The auxiliary gymnasium also serves as a tornado shelter and can be used for testing. Then, the competition gymnasium is two-tiered and has a designated student section similar to Murray State’s CFSB Center.
Carver says student athletic teams and clubs will be able to use both gymnasiums for practice, as well as the gymnasiums at Hopkinsville and Christian County High Schools, which will both be restored.
With a larger student body, Carver says they plan to look into offering students more sports and extracurricular activities. He says there have already been conversations about starting an eSports team.
The tour concluded at Health and Community Services Academy, which Carver says is the most incomplete academy. However, Academy Principal Arnelle Lynch-Wesley says construction is progressing quickly.
As construction continues on schedule, Carver says they are working on finalizing the school’s master schedule and finding placements for teachers.
School leaders are also working to develop a culture blueprint to bring both student bodies together. Carver says they have been meeting with teachers and students from the schools to create core values that everyone can support.
Teachers and administrators will begin moving into the new school in May to get ready to welcome nearly 2,000 students on August 19.
