Buechel's New $24M Preschool Honors Trailblazer Diane L. Porter

A nearly 50,000-square-foot preschool built behind Watterson Elementary School on Frederica Drive in Buechel officially opened this week, giving Jefferson County Public Schools a new $24 million hub for early learners bearing the name of one of its own trailblazers. The Diane L. Porter Preschool was the focus of a district-wide celebration that included a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Porter herself.

The facility is one of 17 dedicated preschools now operating across the district, according to WAVE News, which first reported on the opening. Spanning almost 50,000 square feet, the building houses 23 classrooms along with an inclusive playground and an outdoor learning area designed for young children. Carlisa Gibson, JCPS's executive director of preschools, said the new center will be a place where “children will be known, families will be supported, and possibilities will take root.”

A Namesake With Decades of District History

Diane L. Porter served the school system for more than 55 years, working as a business teacher at Male High School starting in 1970 before moving through roles as a counselor, principal, and central office administrator. She later joined the Jefferson County Board of Education, where she served as chair, according to background compiled by Jefferson County Public Schools. Porter made history in 2012 as the first African American woman to chair the board, and she has cited her advocacy for Afrocentric academies like W.E.B. DuBois Academy and Grace James Academy among her proudest achievements during her tenure.

Porter held the district's Board of Education seat from 2010 to 2023, chairing the board from 2012 to 2018 and again from 2019 until her departure. She resigned in October 2023 after 13 years on the board, citing health concerns, per WHAS11. The Board of Education voted on March 31 to formally approve naming the new Buechel facility in her honor.

Ground Broken Two Years Before Opening

JCPS broke ground on the standalone early childhood center in June 2024, designing the facility to accommodate up to 460 three- and four-year-old students across its 23 windowed classrooms, organized into three wings, WHAS11 reported at the time. The building rose on land adjacent to Watterson Elementary. The preschool opened this month after the groundbreaking.

Part Of A Larger Districtwide Shift

The Porter center's opening comes amid a broader reorganization JCPS announced in March, when the district revealed a strategic move toward a center-based early childhood model for the 2026-27 school year. That shift closed 10 early childhood sites that had been embedded inside elementary schools, eliminating 30 classrooms in the process. WAVE reported that the new Buechel building is one of 17 dedicated preschools. The change included the new Buechel building among the district's dedicated centers.

JCPS is the public school district serving Louisville and Jefferson County.

According to Jefferson County Public Schools, the district provides education for nearly 97,000 students, placing the new preschool within a large urban school system.

Enrollment Rules And A Citywide Push

The new center will enroll preschool students.

According to the Kentucky Department of Education's 2025 SPP/APR and State Determination Letters, preschool enrollment in Kentucky rose by 1.09% for the 2023-2024 school year.

The Buechel opening adds a new early childhood facility in Louisville.

Gibson, addressing the new center's opening, offered a simple framing for what the building represents going forward: “Every great story has a beginning.”