Thomas Jefferson Middle School

South Louisville resides middle school in the Enhanced Support Zone

Neighborhood 6–8 · Explore Pathways · South Louisville · Patriots

Grades: 6th–8th
How to get in: Resides school
School day: 8:40 a.m.–3:20 p.m.

Thomas Jefferson is a south Louisville resides middle school, not a districtwide magnet. Most students attend because the address is assigned here. It is an Explore Pathways school aligned with Seneca and Southern High, and JCPS lists it in the Enhanced Support Zone. Scores are low. The First Neighborhood Place sits on this campus. This guide looks at the school as it is, not as a brochure. JCPS Insider is not affiliated with Jefferson County Public Schools.

1501 Rangeland Road · South Louisville · Kentucky

Official starting points

School Choice:(502) 485-6250 schoolchoice@jefferson.kyschools.us

What this school is

TJMS sits on Rangeland Road in the Newburg / Okolona / south-central corridor, next to Rangeland Elementary. The building dates to 1962. Vision language on the school and in the Choices Guide is WE LEAD — Literacy, Equity, Acceleration, and Design. Mascot: Patriots. No uniform; dress code only.

This is a neighborhood 6–8 first. JCPS also lists it among Explore Pathways schools, with pathways in Business and Communication, Engineering and Design, and Public Service. Those align with Academies of Louisville at Seneca High and Southern High. Families do not apply separately for Explore.

Who runs the building

Joshua Bourgeois

Joshua Bourgeois is listed as principal on the 2025–26 school profile, staff directory, and finance roster. The school's live feed congratulated him as Middle School Principal of the Year ahead of 2026–27. Admins on the staff page include pathway and 6th-grade academy leads. Confirm names on the school site before you write a letter.

School details

Address: 1501 Rangeland Road, Louisville, KY 40219
Phone: (502) 485-8273
Official JCPS site: jefferson.kyschools.us/o/tjms(opens in a new tab)

Hours: 8:40 a.m.–3:20 p.m.
Title I school
Enhanced Support Zone

How families get in

If Thomas Jefferson is your resides middle school, you do not submit a magnet application to attend. Fifth-graders already in JCPS are assigned automatically unless they live in a Choice Zone or apply somewhere else. Confirm the address in School Finder.

Resides assignment: elementary feeders listed on the 2025–26 profile include Blake, Blue Lick, Cochran, Engelhard, Goldsmith, Indian Trail, Klondike, Laukhuf, McFerran, Okolona, Rangeland, and Slaughter. That list is a starting point, not a promise — run the current address.
Explore Pathways are for students who already attend. Families do not apply separately for Explore.
Student transfer is a different form and is not guaranteed. Transportation may not be provided.
Magnet application is for other campuses. TJMS itself is not a districtwide magnet.
Market-share papers show many south-end families already leave the resides school for non-public or other public options. That is a pattern, not a rule for your child.

The 2026–27 magnet window for other schools was November 3–December 19, 2025. That window is closed.

Who it tends to fit

A good match when

TJMS is your resides school and you want Explore Pathways, a 6th-grade academy, and a campus with Neighborhood Place on site.
A no-uniform dress code matters to your student.
South Louisville is already the commute.

Think twice when

State scores are the main filter. Combined proficient+distinguished bands here are among the lowest in this series.
You want a Traditional magnet culture or a whole-school theme campus.
Enhanced Support Zone status is a deal-breaker for your household.

Students

Race counts are from the JCPS 2025–26 Middle Schools Data Book, students attending on Oct. 1, 2025. Headcount is 965. The 2025–26 school profile lists optimal capacity at 1,441 — the building is not full. Choices Guide enrollment: 954.

Diversity index

67%

Standard racial/ethnic diversity index using the Oct. 1, 2025 headcounts. Hispanic students are the largest group, and Black students are next — a mix that is unusual among JCPS middles in this series.

Reported race and ethnicity counts for Thomas Jefferson Middle School
Group	Students	Share
Hispanic / Latino	448	46%
Black / African American	293	30%
White	142	15%
Asian	46	5%
Two or more races	33	3%
Pacific Islander	3	<1%

Gender: Not broken out separately in the source data book.

Capacity vs headcount 1,441 / 965 — about 67% of listed capacity
Choices Guide enrollment 954
Title I: Yes
Enhanced Support Zone: Yes
Building year: 1962

Academics

Use the Kentucky School Report Card first. These bands are from the 2024–25 profile.

Reading: 11% proficient, 5% distinguished. Math: 11% proficient, 1% distinguished. Combined P+D is about 16% reading and 12% math on the 2024–25 profile.
More than half of tested students were novice in reading and math on the 2024–25 snapshot. Those bands sit well below Crosby, Echo Trail, and even Farnsley in this series.
Enhanced Support Zone is the district's label for extra supervision, not a discipline label.
Ask what literacy acceleration looks like in a Patriot Academy classroom, not only in the WE LEAD hallway.

Awards and recognition

Chess
State champions listed among school clubs in the Choices Guide
Principal recognition, 2026
Joshua Bourgeois recognized ahead of 2026–27 school year

Location and daily life

1501 Rangeland Road, 40219 — south of the Watterson, near Preston Highway, Indian Trail, and Southern High. Rangeland Elementary is next door. Hours match several other JCPS middles (8:40–3:20).

The First Neighborhood Place in Louisville (opened 1993) sits on this campus and was renovated and recut in February 2026. Sixth grade is kept separate from 7–8 in a Patriot Academy so teachers can focus on the middle-school jump and social-emotional lessons.

Recent news, in context

February 2026: JCPS and the city recut the ribbon on the renovated First Neighborhood Place, the original 1993 site, on this campus. District leaders said about 1,000 families a day touch Neighborhood Place sites districtwide.

Seventh-graders visited Metro Council in 2026 for a mock meeting.

No Echo Trail–style boundary vote landed on TJMS in 2025. The story here is scores and support, not a line on a map. Ask how hallways work in a 1962 building and how multilingual learners are supported in core classes.

Compare before you commit

Questions to ask on a tour

1.Is Thomas Jefferson still the resides school for my address?
2.What does Patriot Academy look like in a normal sixth-grade week?
3.How are students who arrive with limited English supported in core classes?
4.What share of eighth-graders actually enter Seneca or Southern?
5.How is Enhanced Support Zone status visible in classrooms this year?
6.Can we walk through Neighborhood Place and an ordinary academic team on the same visit?
7.What does the 1962 building feel like at class change?

What to do next

1.Run your address in School Finder. Do not rely on an old neighborhood map.
2.If TJMS is your resides school, register if you are new to JCPS. No magnet application is required to attend.
3.If you want a Traditional or theme magnet instead, use the current Choices Guide and the on-time window.
4.Tour if you can. Ask about literacy time, not only the WE LEAD mural.
5.Complete the Transportation Verification form if you need a bus.
6.If you are offered a different school, read the deadline on the letter.