An opening ceremony Thursday morning for Christian County’s new consolidated high school gave hundreds of community members an early look at the building that will welcome an estimated 2,000 students on opening day, Aug. 19.
While construction is complete on the school building, work continues on athletic fields and landscaping. The cost for the campus is approximately $140 million.
Administrators praised the potential of the new Christian County High School to prepare students for work and careers, and pledged to make the 360,000-square-foot building a facility for the entire community.
Students had roles in Thursday’s ceremony. Cheerleaders lined the sidewalk and a hallway to greet visitors. The Junior ROTC provided a color guard and brought the American and Kentucky flags to the center of the gym. The band played “The Star-Spangled Banner” and a new fight song for the school.
Ken Carver, the executive principal, prompted applause and words of affirmation from several audience members when he spoke about the need to transform what students believe they can achieve.
“One of the most important things we can give our students in this building isn’t just the technology, the classrooms, the labs, the academies and the equipment,” he said. “It’s belief. The belief that where you come from does not determine where you go.”
The school sits on 87 acres at Fort Campbell Boulevard and Lovers Lane. It combines the district’s two public high schools, Hopkinsville and Christian County, and pulls traditions from both. The school colors are blue (from the original CCHS) and orange (from HHS). The Tiger mascot comes from HHS, and the road winding through the campus has a new address, 1 Tiger Way.
“While we honor the traditions and legacies that brought us here today, we embrace a new chapter built on excellence, motivation, opportunity and a shared commitment to student success,” said Superintendent Chris Bentzel.
Ford Next Generation Learning
The opening ceremony — held in the gym that was recently named Hopkinsville Rotary Arena — also included recognition of the school’s designation as a new Ford Next Generation Learning community.
Ford NGL helps districts redesign how schools teach students to prepare them for work and careers. It places an emphasis on connecting schools with local businesses and industry.
The Ford NGL website states that the program, “partners with communities to mobilize educators, employers, and community leaders to prepare a generation of young people who can adapt, make informed decisions, and pursue evolving opportunities — equipped not just for their first step after high school, but for a lifetime of transitions, challenges, and growth.”
The school has four wings, one for each of the CCHS academies:
- Freshman Success
- Health and Community Services
- Agriculture and Skilled Trades
- Business, Engineering and Manufacturing
The freshmen will spend their first year together in the academy as they explore careers and professions to determine which of the other three academies they will join during the remainder of their time in high school. Each academy will have its own principal, two assistant principals and two guidance counselors. This informational sheet from the district explains how the academy model works.
Executive principal touts potential of school
Carver, who left the Muhlenberg County school system last summer to begin organizing the academic structure for CCHS, spoke Thursday about the district’s plans for the school. He stressed that the school belongs to the community.
“It belongs to our students, our crew, our families, our community — and it belongs to the businesses, the industries, the colleges, the organizations and partners who will help us prepare young people for what comes next,” he said.
“Educators, families, businesses, industries, community leaders and students must work together to create meaningful, real-world opportunities for young people. And that’s exactly what we intend to do here. We intend for Christian County High School to be one of the most community-facing schools in Western Kentucky and perhaps the entire commonwealth,” he said.
Carver asked the audience to think about their connection to the school.
“We want our business and industry partners in these halls,” he said. “We want our parents in these halls. We want our community leaders in these halls. We want our students learning from the people actually doing the work in the world they are preparing to enter.”
He encouraged community members to get involved with the school.
“I want to leave you with one challenge,” he said. “Don’t just admire the building. Use it. Fill it. Bring your expertise. Bring your businesses. Bring your ideas … and please don’t let this be the last time we see you.”
He added, “The building is impressive, but it’s the people in it that make it extraordinary.”
Carver demonstrated a rapport with the new school’s teachers and students, who cheered loudly as he pointed to different groups throughout the gym before walking to the lectern to speak.
Although he wasn’t in the district when decisions were made that led to the construction of a consolidated school, Carver praised those who brought it to fruition.
Making a case for consolidation
The district, under then-Superintendent Mary Ann Gemmill, was considering construction of new academic buildings for both Hopkinsville and Christian County. The school board adopted a nickel tax to raise funding to get started on one of the schools, but in 2019 it was overwhelmingly rejected in a voter recall.
After he was named superintendent in 2020, Bentzel began making a case for a consolidated school, which became feasible, in part, because of federal coronavirus relief money. Some residents have remained critical of consolidation.
Ground was broken on the new high school in September 2023.
“You could have taken the easy route,” Carver said, addressing Bentzel, other administrators and community members who supported the creation of a consolidated high school. “You could have said, ‘Let’s take what we already have and make it work.’ But you didn’t. You had the courage to ask a much bigger question: ‘What would it look like if we built the school around the future that we want for our students?’”
Following the ceremony in the gym, the school offered tours to community members and conducted a ribbon-cutting ceremony in front of the building.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
