Waggener High School

What this school is

Waggener opened in 1954 at 330 S. Hubbards Lane in St. Matthews, first as a junior high and then as a 9–12 school by 1957. Colors are red and gray. Teams are the Wildcats. Principal Dr. Sarah Hitchings has led the school since 2016. The current board member for new District 2 is Corrie Shull; 2025–26 school records still list Tricia Lister under the former seven-district map. Network 3 neighbors: Atherton, Ballard, Eastern, and the Academy @ Shawnee.

After the Freshman Academy, there are two career academies: Health Science (biomedical sciences, EKG tech, pre-nursing, sports medicine) and IT and Law (computer programming, pre-law, teaching and learning, web design). All three academies earned NCAC accreditation in 2024 — Freshman Academy Model with Distinction; Health Science and IT and Law Model.

College Now dual credit runs with WKU, UofL, UK, JCTC, and Campbellsville, and Waggener's page says students may earn more than 30 hours. Partner colleges and hour totals change year to year. Treat the brochure maximum as a ceiling to ask about, not a guarantee — confirm current College Now seats and course offerings with counseling.

How families get in

Waggener is not on the districtwide magnet list with Manual, Male, Butler, Central, Brown, or Western. It is a resides Academies of Louisville high school in Network 3. Use School Finder. If Waggener is the campus tied to your address, you enroll — you do not enter the magnet lottery for a seat in the building.

• If this is your resides school: register first if the child is new to JCPS, then enroll at Waggener.
• 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.
• After ninth grade, students move into an upperclassman academy and career pathway. Ask counseling how pathway selection and placement work.
• If this is not your resides school: apply in the JCPS window as an in-network Academies request or a transfer — not as one of the eight magnet high schools. Waggener is Network 3.
• A 2.0 GPA is often cited for Academies lottery eligibility. Confirm the current Choices Guide.
• Do not assume transportation. Resides busing follows district rules for this address; transfers often do not.

Who it tends to fit

Students

Figures below come from the JCPS 2025–26 high-school profile and free/reduced roll for Waggener High unless noted. The diversity index is calculated from those shares — the chance two students picked at random are from different reported groups — not a JCPS badge.

Gender: Enrollment 908 against a listed optimal capacity of 1,482. Title I: yes.

• Free/reduced share on the 2025–26 roll: about 66% (598 of 908)
• Multilingual learners: 243 (27%)
• Choices Guide print enrollment was 924; use the Oct. 1 profile count of 908 for headcounts
• The 908 figure is the 2025–26 Oct. 1 count, not a live September 2026 headcount

Academics

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

• School site / KDE badges: 17% proficient, 5% distinguished in reading (22% P+D); 18% proficient, 1% distinguished in math (19% P+D) — lower JCPS high school bands.
• Choices Guide / school: NCAC Model academies and College Now dual credit. Ask which academy sections actually ran.
• Enrollment sources: profile 908 (Oct. 1, 2025) against Choices print 924. Use the profile for headcounts.
• NCAC Model status is a process accreditation, not a substitute for KSA proficiency. Dual credit through College Now is the academic story worth touring.

Awards and recognition

• 1954

  Campus opens — St. Matthews junior high first

• NCAC 2024

  All three academies — Freshman Model with Distinction

• College Now

  Dual credit with WKU, UofL, UK, JCTC, Campbellsville

• 8:40 start

  Later high-school bell, same wave as Eastern

Location and daily life

330 S. Hubbards Lane is St. Matthews — east-central Louisville, a different commute from Valley or Southern. Official hours are 8:40 a.m. to 3:20 p.m.

Resides transportation follows district rules for this address. Network and transfer placements often do not get a bus. Confirm the stop in Infinite Campus.

Compare before you commit

• Atherton HighNetwork 3 neighbor. IB is a magnet program inside a resides campus. Earlier start.
• Eastern HighNetwork 3 neighbor. Larger. Army JROTC and more AP volume listed.
• Ballard High(opens the official JCPS page in a new tab)Network 3 neighbor. Larger east-end resides school.
• duPont ManualDistrictwide 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 Waggener our resides school in School Finder, or would we be applying?
2. 2.Which health-science, pre-law, and programming sections actually ran last year?
3. 3.What does NCAC Model status change in a classroom we can watch?
4. 4.How many College Now seats filled, not just which colleges are listed?
5. 5.What does the 8:40 arrival screen look like after the March 2026 backpack find?
6. 6.How are the unused rooms used — labs or vacant classrooms?
7. 7.If we live outside the zone, is transportation offered?
8. 8.Who are the current academy principals and counselors for my student's pathway?

What to do next

1. 1.Run your address in JCPS School Finder. That answer decides whether you apply.
2. 2.Read the Waggener page in the current High School Choices Guide.
3. 3.Tour a health lab, a programming class, and a dual-credit section while class is in session.
4. 4.If Waggener is not your resides school, apply in the on-time window as a Network 3 Academies request — not as a districtwide magnet.
5. 5.Confirm the current counselor list at the desk.
6. 6.Confirm transportation in Infinite Campus. Do not assume a Hubbards Lane bus from across the county.