Elementary School Archives A-F: Atkinson

Official Name: J. B. Atkinson Academy for Excellence in Teaching and Learning

Year Opened: 1902

Atkinson Elementary is named for Joseph B. Atkinson, a Louisville paint contractor and member of the local school board in the late nineteenth century.  Atkinson's original school building, which opened in 1902, was at 2811 Duncan Street at 29th and Duncan.  The original site was once an alms house.  A school named Park School for its location in a park preceded Atkinson at that site.  A new building was constructed on the same site behind the old school and opened in 1991.  The new school's address was 2800 Alford Avenue.  The old building was razed the same year.  In 2009 the school's official name was changed to J. B. Atkinson Academy for Excellence in Teaching and Learning to reflect the school's magnet status and transition to a "laboratory school" for the University of Louisville.  The school moved its entrance in 2009 and resumed the 2811 Duncan Street address.  In 2015 Atkinson became a school of innovation in a program authorized by the Kentucky Department of Education.  The Reach Academy at Atkinson provides a more coordinated approach with extra support outside the classroom to serve its student body.