There were 5,385 students enrolled in Knox County schools in 2022-23 school year

KY Commissioner of Education Jason Glass 2023 | Kentucky Department of Education

By SE Kentucky News

Aug 31, 2024

There were 5,385 students enrolled in Knox County schools in the 2022-23 school year, 3% more than the previous year, according to the Kentucky Department of Education.

Boys made up 51.3% of the county student body, while the other 48.7% were girls.

Data also showed that white students made up 94.5% of the student body, the largest percentage in Knox County schools, followed by 1.9% of Hispanic students, 1.7% of multiracial students and 1.5% of Black students.

Knox Central High School had the highest enrollment among Knox County’s 16 schools in the 2022-23 cycle, welcoming 822 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.

Enrollment in Knox County Schools Over 3 Years

Enrollment in Knox County Schools Compared to Previous Year

School Name	Total Enrollment in 2022	Total Enrollment in 2023	% change
Knox Central High School	792	822	3.8%
Barbourville City School	722	760	5.3%
Lynn Camp Elementary School	-	594	-%
Lynn Camp Middle High School	-	534	-%
Knox County Middle School	477	474	-0.6%
Central Elementary School	424	424	0%
Jesse D. Lay Elementary School	360	394	9.4%
Girdler Elementary School	341	332	-2.7%
G. R. Hampton Elementary School	289	307	6.2%
Flat Lick Elementary School	220	224	1.8%
Dewitt Elementary School	137	146	6.6%
Knox County Learning Academy	90	102	13.3%
Knox Inspire Academy	274	97	-182.5%
Knox Appalachian School	89	95	6.7%
Knox County Day Treatment	52	68	30.8%
Barbourville Learning Center	-	12	-%