KY Commissioner of Education Jason Glass 2023 | Kentucky Department of Education
KY Commissioner of Education Jason Glass 2023 | Kentucky Department of Education
Boys made up 53.3% of the county student body, while the other 46.7% were girls.
Data also showed that white students made up 97% of the student body, the largest percentage in Letcher County schools, followed by 1% of multiracial students, 1% of Hispanic students and 0.6% of Black students.
Letcher County Central High School had the highest enrollment among Letcher County’s 10 schools in the 2022-23 cycle, welcoming 804 students.
Despite escaping some of the pandemic's educational disruptions, Kentucky's achievement gaps have remained an issue since 2019. In the eighth-grade reading assessments, for example, Hispanic students scored eight points lower than their white peers, and the gap reached 15 points in math. Black students fared even worse, falling more than 20 points behind and facing a failure rate nearly double that of their white counterparts.
Kentucky is in the midst of a statewide teacher shortage as turnover rates spiked to 10.9% in 2023, up from an 8.9% nine-year average. This issue is more prominent in schools with more low-income and minority students.
Data also shows that between 2019 and 2023, there was an increase of 260% in the number of available teaching posts in Kentucky schools. This often leads to larger class sizes, combining programs, and retaining staff despite potential negative impacts on teacher working conditions.
| School Name | Total Enrollment in 2022 | Total Enrollment in 2023 | % change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Letcher County Central High School | 923 | 804 | -14.8% |
| Jenkins Independent School | 517 | 547 | 5.8% |
| West Whitesburg Elementary School | 501 | 444 | -12.8% |
| Letcher Elementary & Middle School | 429 | 390 | -10% |
| Martha Jane Potter Elementary School | 368 | 332 | -10.8% |
| Cowan Elementary School | 281 | 286 | 1.8% |
| Fleming Neon Middle School | 192 | 178 | -7.9% |
| Whitesburg Middle School | 200 | 177 | -13% |
| Arlie Boggs Elementary School | 139 | 133 | -4.5% |
| Letcher County Alternative Education Center | 19 | 31 | 63.2% |
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