New Model Facility Fully Funded by General Assembly

Dear Model Families,

I am writing to share some great news regarding the future construction of Model Laboratory School.

Thanks to the great support of the General Assembly, Eastern Kentucky University has received full funding for the replacement of Model Laboratory School. This milestone was finalized in the recently approved state budget and signed by the governor at the conclusion of the legislative session last week.

Beyond providing a world-class education for your children, as a university lab school, Model Laboratory serves as an essential platform for EKU undergraduate and graduate students to gain invaluable hands-on clinical experience, paving the way for them to become exemplary educators and practitioners in the future. The funding allocated to EKU for Model underscores the General Assembly’s commitment to the future of education in the Commonwealth.

Moving forward, our next steps entail finalizing the design, site and location, and construction planning, a process expected to span several months. During this period, the university will receive construction bids for the project. Based on the current timeline, we anticipate construction to begin next Spring (2025). If all continues according to plan, we aim to inaugurate the 2027-2028 school year in a state-of-the-art facility.

As we progress through this process, I am committed to keeping our Model community informed with regular updates, which will be readily available on a dedicated webpage on Model’s website soon.

I invite you to join me, the EKU Board of Regents, and EKU President David McFaddin in thanking the members of the Kentucky General Assembly, particularly members of the Madison County Legislative Delegation, for their committed support of EKU and its role in teacher education!

Thank you for choosing Model for your child’s education.


John R. Williamson, Superintendent
Model Laboratory Schools