IDEA - Glasgow, Barren County, Kentucky

There’s a place in Glasgow where students are earning bachelor’s degrees in psychology and learning to weld – all under the same roof.The South Regional Postsecondary Education Center hosts classes and programs from Western Kentucky University and Bowling Green Com­munity College. The center is also home to Glasgow Technology Campus, a regional campus for Bowling Green Technical College. Students can earn associate’s and bachelor’s degrees and take master’s-level courses, or they can take courses like welding, HVAC and computer-aided drafting from the technical college.Campus enrollment has increased by close to 500 students since the facility opened in 2002, and there has been a major shift toward more full-time students.

The Barren County School System’s Trojan Academy, a new “school center,” will open its doors in fall 2007. The new facility will connect the existing middle and high schools. The academy will feature 20 class­rooms, mostly for ninth-grade students, with some for accelerated eighth-grade math classes.“The main purpose of Trojan Academy is to provide a segregated setting for ninth graders and to address capacity issues." The Barren County School System currently has more than 4,500 students, and projected growth for the 2007-08 school year is 7%.

Glasgow Independent School System, students can look forward to either a new or improved high school very soon. Superintendent Fred Carter says “Some would rather keep the existing structure intact to preserve a sense of history, and I respect that,” Carter says. “But at the same time, I see the advantages of starting from scratch. Our goal is to have all sports on campus,” he says. “Currently, the swim team uses an off-site pool, softball and baseball are played at a city park, and soccer is at a complex. We want to change as much of that as possible.”