Southern High School

What this school is

Southern opened in 1951 at 8620 Preston Highway in Okolona. First graduating class: 1952. Colors are purple and white. Teams are the Trojans. Motto language on older pages: "where pride promotes performance." It is a Network 2 Academies of Louisville resides school with Fern Creek, Jeffersontown, Marion C. Moore, and Seneca. Board member: Linda Duncan.

After the Freshman Academy, three academies: Automotive Service (auto technology, collision repair, Army JROTC); Business Leadership (financial services, marketing, management — including a student-staffed Class Act Federal Credit Union open to the public); METAL (machine tool and die, allied health, patient care). The Choices Guide calls the auto program the largest in Kentucky.

The building is a resides school. Automotive Technology and Collision Repair are listed in the Choices Guide as districtwide pathways — any JCPS student can apply to those shops. That is not a magnet-program application and not one of the eight magnet high schools. Do not treat every academy seat as a districtwide lottery.

How families get in

Southern is not on the districtwide magnet list with Manual, Male, Butler, Central, Brown, or Western. Use School Finder first. Then decide whether you want the campus, or the auto/collision pathway.

• If this is your resides school: register first if the child is new to JCPS, then enroll at Southern.
• Choice Zone families still pick close-to-home or far-away. Confirm that map for your address.
• Academy pathways are chosen after ninth grade. The Freshman Academy is the on-ramp.
• Auto and collision seats are still limited even if you live in the zone. Ask which sections actually ran last year.
• From outside the zone, for auto technology or collision repair: apply as a districtwide pathway — not as a magnet-program or magnet-school application. Confirm the current Choices Guide wording.
• For other academies from outside the zone: apply as a Network 2 Academies request or a transfer. A 2.0 GPA is often cited for Academies lottery eligibility — confirm this year.
• Do not assume transportation from across the county.

Who it tends to fit

Students

Figures below come from the JCPS Individual School Data Book for Southern High, 2025–26, unless noted. The diversity index is calculated from those headcounts — the chance two students picked at random are from different reported groups — not a JCPS badge.

Gender: 868 boys and 763 girls. Title I: yes.

• Free lunch 1,069 · reduced 38 (about 68% free/reduced)
• Gifted and talented: 140
• ECE (2024–25): 190
• 504 plans: 48
• Multilingual learners: 549
• KDE indicator rating in the data book: 2

Academics

Start with the bands Southern posts from the Kentucky School Report Card. They are the honest first number.

• School site / KDE badges: 17% proficient, 6% distinguished in reading (23% P+D); 12% proficient, 4% distinguished in math (16% P+D).
• Choices Guide / school: dual credit and ACT prep listed, plus the largest Kentucky auto program claimed. Ask which shop and nursing sections ran.
• Enrollment sources: data book 1,631 (Oct. 1, 2025) against a Choices print figure of 1,814. Use the data book for headcounts.
• Listed optimal capacity is 1,604 against 1,631 on the roll — slightly over on paper. Dual credit, co-op, and certificates are the academic story. Statewide proficiency is not.

Awards and recognition

• 1951

  Campus opens — first class 1952, Okolona

• Auto shops

  Largest Kentucky program · districtwide pathway seats

• Credit union

  Class Act FCU — student-staffed, open to the public

• 8:40 start

  Later high-school bell, same wave as Fern Creek

Location and daily life

8620 Preston Highway is Okolona — south Louisville, a different commute from Eastern or Atherton. Data-book hours are 8:40 a.m. to about 3:20 p.m.

Resides transportation follows district rules for this address. Network, transfer, and districtwide-pathway placements often do not get a bus. Confirm Infinite Campus.

Compare before you commit

• Fern Creek HighNetwork 2 neighbor. Communications, education, and Marine JROTC academies.
• Fairdale High(opens the official JCPS page in a new tab)Diesel is the other districtwide transportation pathway. Civil-service academies.
• Iroquois High(opens the official JCPS page in a new tab)Nearby trades campus. Builder's apprenticeship and skilled-trades pathways.
• Louisville Male HighDistrictwide traditional magnet. Application required. Different academic profile.
• Your other resides option(opens the official JCPS page in a new tab)In the Choice Zone, the far-away campus is the other automatic seat.

Questions to ask on a tour

1. 1.Is Southern our resides school in School Finder, or would we be applying?
2. 2.Who is the current principal — Sampson or someone else?
3. 3.How do districtwide auto and collision seats get assigned?
4. 4.Which shop, nursing, and machine-tool sections actually ran last year?
5. 5.How does Army JROTC placement work for resides vs. network applicants?
6. 6.What does the 8:40 arrival look like on Preston Highway?
7. 7.If we live outside the zone, is transportation offered?
8. 8.How full are Freshman Academy classes this year?

What to do next

1. 1.Run your address in JCPS School Finder. That answer decides whether you apply.
2. 2.Read the Southern page and the districtwide-pathways list in the current Choices Guide.
3. 3.Tour the auto shops, collision bay, and credit union while class is in session.
4. 4.If you want auto/collision from outside the zone, apply as a districtwide pathway — not as one of the eight magnet high schools.
5. 5.Confirm the current principal and counselor list at the desk.
6. 6.Confirm transportation in Infinite Campus. Do not assume a Preston Highway bus from across the county.