BGISD unveils Career and Technical Education Building
Published 2:32 pm Wednesday, April 2, 2025
Local and state officials, representatives of the Bowling Green Independent Schools and Bowling Green High School students gather for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the district’s new Career and Technical Education building at Bowling Green High School on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. The 19,000-square-foot facility includes classroom, office and multipurpose spaces to house the Little Purples Academy Childcare Center, the BGISD Technology Department and the BGHS Industrial Maintenance program, as well as a new HVAC program in partnership with SKYCTC for the fall semester. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Gov. Andy Beshear joins local and state officials and representatives of the Bowling Green Independent Schools to cut a ribbon on the Bowling Green Independent Schools’ new Career and Technical Education building at Bowling Green High School on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. The 19,000-square-foot facility includes classroom, office and multipurpose spaces to house the Little Purples Academy Childcare Center, the BGISD Technology Department and the BGHS Industrial Maintenance program, as well as a new HVAC program in partnership with SKYCTC for the fall semester. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Gov. Andy Beshear speaks at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Bowling Green Independent Schools’ new Career and Technical Education building at Bowling Green High School on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. The 19,000-square-foot facility includes classroom, office and multipurpose spaces to house the Little Purples Academy Childcare Center, the BGISD Technology Department and the BGHS Industrial Maintenance program, as well as a new HVAC program in partnership with SKYCTC for the fall semester. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Bowling Green High School students work with some of the industrial maintenance program’s tools before a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the district’s new Career and Technical Education building at Bowling Green High School on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. The 19,000-square-foot facility includes classroom, office and multipurpose spaces to house the Little Purples Academy Childcare Center, the BGISD Technology Department and the BGHS Industrial Maintenance program, as well as a new HVAC program in partnership with SKYCTC for the fall semester. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Bowling Green High School students work with some of the industrial maintenance program’s tools before a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the district’s new Career and Technical Education building at Bowling Green High School on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. The 19,000-square-foot facility includes classroom, office and multipurpose spaces to house the Little Purples Academy Childcare Center, the BGISD Technology Department and the BGHS Industrial Maintenance program, as well as a new HVAC program in partnership with SKYCTC for the fall semester. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Gov. Andy Beshear (middle right) takes a photo with a group of Bowling Green High School ambassadors before a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the district’s new Career and Technical Education building at Bowling Green High School on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. The 19,000-square-foot facility includes classroom, office and multipurpose spaces to house the Little Purples Academy Childcare Center, the BGISD Technology Department and the BGHS Industrial Maintenance program, as well as a new HVAC program in partnership with SKYCTC for the fall semester. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Bowling Green Independent School District Superintendent Gary Fields speaks at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Career and Technical Education building at Bowling Green High School on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. The 19,000-square-foot facility includes classroom, office and multipurpose spaces to house the Little Purples Academy Childcare Center, the BGISD Technology Department and the BGHS Industrial Maintenance program, as well as a new HVAC program in partnership with SKYCTC for the fall semester. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
State Rep. Michael Meredith speaks at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Bowling Green Independent Schools’ new Career and Technical Education building at Bowling Green High School on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. The 19,000-square-foot facility includes classroom, office and multipurpose spaces to house the Little Purples Academy Childcare Center, the BGISD Technology Department and the BGHS Industrial Maintenance program, as well as a new HVAC program in partnership with SKYCTC for the fall semester. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Gov. Andy Beshear speaks at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Bowling Green Independent Schools’ new Career and Technical Education building at Bowling Green High School on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. The 19,000-square-foot facility includes classroom, office and multipurpose spaces to house the Little Purples Academy Childcare Center, the BGISD Technology Department and the BGHS Industrial Maintenance program, as well as a new HVAC program in partnership with SKYCTC for the fall semester. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Local and state officials, representatives of the Bowling Green Independent Schools and Bowling Green High School students listen as Gov. Andy Beshear speaks at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Bowling Green Independent Schools’ new Career and Technical Education building at Bowling Green High School on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. The 19,000-square-foot facility includes classroom, office and multipurpose spaces to house the Little Purples Academy Childcare Center, the BGISD Technology Department and the BGHS Industrial Maintenance program, as well as a new HVAC program in partnership with SKYCTC for the fall semester. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Gov. Andy Beshear speaks at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Bowling Green Independent Schools’ new Career and Technical Education building at Bowling Green High School on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. The 19,000-square-foot facility includes classroom, office and multipurpose spaces to house the Little Purples Academy Childcare Center, the BGISD Technology Department and the BGHS Industrial Maintenance program, as well as a new HVAC program in partnership with SKYCTC for the fall semester. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Bowling Green High School Principal Kyle McGraw speaks at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Bowling Green Independent Schools’ new Career and Technical Education building at BGHS on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. The 19,000-square-foot facility includes classroom, office and multipurpose spaces to house the Little Purples Academy Childcare Center, the BGISD Technology Department and the BGHS Industrial Maintenance program, as well as a new HVAC program in partnership with SKYCTC for the fall semester. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Bowling Green High School students work with some of the industrial maintenance program’s tools before a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the district’s new Career and Technical Education building at Bowling Green High School on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. The 19,000-square-foot facility includes classroom, office and multipurpose spaces to house the Little Purples Academy Childcare Center, the BGISD Technology Department and the BGHS Industrial Maintenance program, as well as a new HVAC program in partnership with SKYCTC for the fall semester. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Bowling Green High School students work with some of the industrial maintenance program’s tools before a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the district’s new Career and Technical Education building at Bowling Green High School on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. The 19,000-square-foot facility includes classroom, office and multipurpose spaces to house the Little Purples Academy Childcare Center, the BGISD Technology Department and the BGHS Industrial Maintenance program, as well as a new HVAC program in partnership with SKYCTC for the fall semester. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Gov. Andy Beshear (middle right) speaks with State Rep. Michael Meredith (left), Bowling Green Independent School District Superintendent Gary Fields and BGHS Principal Kyle McGraw before a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the district’s new Career and Technical Education building at Bowling Green High School on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. The 19,000-square-foot facility includes classroom, office and multipurpose spaces to house the Little Purples Academy Childcare Center, the BGISD Technology Department and the BGHS Industrial Maintenance program, as well as a new HVAC program in partnership with SKYCTC for the fall semester. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
BY DAVID MAMARIL HOROWITZ
david.horowitz@bgdailynews.com
Students gather around workstations with machines at Bowling Green High School’s new and spacious Industrial Maintenance Department lab area. A hallway down, several sit at computers at the ready to assist community members with tech issues. After a sharp right, a line of students in ergonomic gaming chairs practice Rocket League — think soccer with cars — for the school’s E-sports program. And next door, a daycare serves 56 infants, toddlers and young children of district employees.
Bowling Green Independent Schools’ new Career and Technical Education Building is a 19,000-square-foot facility at BGHS housing the new Little Purples Academy Childcare Center, the BGHS Industrial Maintenance Department and the BGISD Technology Department. The facility opened in January — and on Wednesday, more than 150 students, faculty, administration, community partners, legislators, state leaders and other community members attended the facility’s formal ribbon-cutting.
“You ought to be really proud of what you’ve built here: a state of the art facility where students on different pathways are going to be able to work with each other, encourage each other, where we bring dignity to every single pathway that’s there, and no matter what these students dream of doing, we provide them the tools to be successful,” Gov. Andy Beshear said to the crowd.
The vast majority of the facility was funded through an $8.3 million grant through the Better Kentucky Plan, which aims to support the commonwealth in the post-COVID economy, with funding from the 2022 General Assembly, as well as a 10% match by BGISD.
“The building is going to give our students hands-on opportunities that they previously didn’t have before in industry, to include experiences in industrial maintenance, HVAC, computer networking and early childhood education,” BGHS Principal Kyle McGraw said. “And we’re really excited about it opening up.”
The daycare, run by a partnership between BGISD and Community Education of Bowling Green and Warren County, has four classrooms that can serve up to 66 infants, toddlers and children of district employees.
Students from the high school’s Early Childhood Career Pathway can apply for jobs at the daycare, where they can job-shadow, help with operations and gather observation hours. Two students work there currently, and the district plans to add more.
“Little Purples Academy is an incredibly joyful place,” academy Principal Caitlin Lawson said. “The fact that we have been open for three months now and it’s been successful, it’s just like a dream come true.”
The move of BGISD Technology Department, which services the district’s technology needs, adds the capacity for the district’s tech team to begin working directly with students — and they’re looking at adding a computer networking pathway, McGraw said.
“High School students work on-site, learning basic network maintenance and troubleshooting with district engineers and technicians,” according to BGISD.
It also provides a gaming lab for the high school’s E-sports teams.
Meanwhile, the facility features two large shop areas and classrooms serving the BGHS Industrial Maintenance Department — and that, in fall, will additionally serve the school’s upcoming HVAC program.
“The projects that those students can take on in our new space will be larger, and the potential for community partnerships will (be) even greater because of the increased space and the dedicated space for a true industrial maintenance lab,” McGraw said.
The HVAC pathway, a partnership with Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College, will provide a four-course, four-quarter sequence where students can earn up to 20 hours of dual credit —enough for an HVAC-R certificate and half of the hours for an HVAC degree from SKyCTC, BGISD Superintendent Gary Fields has said.
