Funding for the Academies of Louisville Alliance is generously provided by the Jefferson County Public Education Foundation and the Gheens Foundation.

I am thrilled to introduce you to the Academies of Louisville Alliance! This journey began with a vision to transform our public high schools into college and career academies, and the results have been remarkable. In just seven years, we’ve seen the percentage of JCPS graduates who are “postsecondary ready” soar from 50% to an impressive 78%.

This success is a testament to the dedication of our JCPS staff, local business leaders, and key partners like KentuckianaWorks and Greater Louisville Inc. (GLI). With over 200 Business Partners supporting our students across these high schools, we've made significant strides. However, to reach our ambitious goal of having over 90% of our students graduating postsecondary ready by 2027, we recognized the need to expand our efforts.

The Academies of Louisville Alliance represents the next evolution of this initiative. In late 2023, core business leaders, JCPS leadership, KentuckianaWorks, and GLI recognized that to make AofL a national model for urban school districts and to attract new workers to Louisville, we needed to double down our efforts and staff the 2.0 version of the initiative. We successfully raised $2.7 million to fund this expansion.

This funding allowed us to hire four business-facing coordinators and two communications positions. The entire team was hired by July 1, and we are off and running. The Alliance, housed under the KentuckianaWorks umbrella with one member employed by GLI, provides the additional staffing and resources needed to support 15 schools, 200+ Business Partners, and over 19,000 high school students.

The Business Partnership Coordinators are working to strengthen relationships with existing partners and increase the number and quality of student experiences. They're focusing on boosting opportunities like field trips, classroom speakers, real-world projects, co-ops, internships, summer jobs, and apprenticeships aligned with career pathways. Meanwhile, our GLI-based Business Partner Recruiter is targeting new partners to fill gaps in our pathways, especially in areas with low engagement.

The Communications team is playing a crucial role in boosting understanding and engagement across all stakeholders. They're ensuring clear and consistent messaging about the Academies, opening up better communication channels, and creating content that resonates with our diverse audience. They've already launched a bi-weekly newsletter and produced short videos highlighting student and partner successes.

As we enter the 8th year of the Academies, I'm incredibly excited about the impact this expanded team will have. By bridging the gap between education and business, we're creating a powerful ecosystem that benefits our students, our schools, and our entire community.

As we move forward, I invite all of you to join us in this exciting journey. Whether you're an educator, a business leader, or a community member, there's a role for you in shaping the future of education in Jefferson County. Together, we can create a brighter future for our students and our city.

On behalf of the Academies of Louisville Alliance,

Regina Phillips | KentuckianaWorks