HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – Furniture is expected to start moving into the new Christian County High school within the next few weeks as construction crews hustle to install final finishes on the interior. Opening to students this fall, the school is the consolidation of the current Christian County and Hopkinsville High School along with the Gateway Academy.
On April 21, Nicole Poindexter with Christian County Public Schools led the local Health Department on a tour of the new high school. She has hosted dozens of tours as construction progresses at the campus to educators and organizations. Christian County Now was able to tag along for an exclusive look at finished academy classrooms and labs, newly laid flooring at the Tiger gym and the expansive cafeteria space among other key features of the school.
With 350,000 square feet of space available spanning between two floors and over 86 acres total, the scale of building off of Lovers Lane initially seems daunting. However, the division of academies and layout of the campus makes it fairly simple to navigate. The wings are divided up into four different academies, each of which has their own customized internal entrance, their own dedicated front office with and SRO, receptionist, counselor, and designated principal.
- The Academy of Freshman Success
- The Academy of Agriculture and Skilled Trades
- The Academy of Business, Engineering and Manufacturing
- The Academy of Health and Community Services
CCPS says the academy model features small learning communities (schools within schools) where teachers and students get to know each other over the course of three years while focused on specific career pathways.
Previously facilitated off campus at Gateway, academies at the new CCHS have multiple classrooms, labs, their own media center and large custom workshops where students can focus on hands on activities. The agriculture workshop features enough space to house four school busses while another wing has a fully fitted industrial kitchen for culinary students.
Learning spaces are intentionally designed to all have natural light, with internal windows installed to let in light from hallways. To help simplify and modernize the school, keycards will be used on all doors which automatically lock when they are shut…