SE Kentucky News

There were 1,285 students enrolled in Middlesboro Independent School District in the 2023-24 school year, 3.2% more than the previous year, according to the Kentucky Department of Education.

Of all the students welcomed in the 2023-24 school year, 51.8% of them were boys, and 48.2% were girls.

Data also showed that most of the students were white, making up 83.2% of the Middlesboro Independent School District's total enrollment.

Middlesboro Independent School District roughly covers five schools within Bell County and has a main office in Middlesboro.

Among those schools, Middlesboro Elementary School recorded the highest enrollment of 526 students in the 2023-24 school year.

Despite ongoing efforts to address educational disparities, Kentucky's achievement gaps persist. In the 2024 eighth-grade reading assessments, for example, Black students scored 24 points lower than their white peers, while Hispanic students were 19 points behind. In mathematics, the gaps were even more pronounced: Black students lagged by 29 points and Hispanic students by 19 points compared to white students. These disparities have remained relatively unchanged since 2000, highlighting the need for continued focus on equity in education.

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 2022-23	Total Enrollment in 2023-24	% change
Middlesboro Elementary School	496	526	6%
Middlesboro High School	375	365	-2.7%
Middlesboro Middle School	317	337	6.3%
Middlesboro Alternative School	44	46	4.5%
Middlesboro Group Home School	30	32	6.7%