SE Kentucky News

There were 180 first grade students enrolled in Jackson County schools in the 2022-23 school year, 3.7% less than the previous year, according to the Kentucky Department of Education.

McKee Elementary School welcomed most of the first grade students in the county, registering 70 students.

Within Jackson County schools, the highest student population was found in ninth grade, with the smallest class sizes seen in 12th grade.

Statewide, Jackson County ranked 80th in enrollment numbers. It was also ranked 80th the year before.

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.

School	# of 1st Grade Students Enrolled	% of Student Body	Total Enrollment
McKee Elementary School	70	16.4%	428
Tyner Elementary School	68	13.4%	508
Sand Gap Elementary School	42	14.8%	284