SE Kentucky News

There were 1,015 students enrolled in Harlan Independent School District in the 2023-24 school year, 12.3% 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 girls, and 48.2% were boys.

Data also showed that most of the students were white, making up 86.9% of the Harlan Independent School District's total enrollment.

Harlan Independent School District roughly covers three schools within Harlan County and has a main office in Harlan.

Among those schools, Harlan High School recorded the highest enrollment of 486 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
Harlan High School	415	486	17.1%
Harlan Elementary School	375	383	2.1%
Sunshine School	114	146	28.1%