SE Kentucky News

There were 2,611 students enrolled in Letcher County School District in the 2023-24 school year, 3.5% less than the previous year, according to the Kentucky Department of Education.

Of all the students welcomed in the 2023-24 school year, 53.3% of them were boys, and 46.7% were girls.

Data also showed that most of the students were white, making up 97.3% of the Letcher County School District's total enrollment.

Letcher County School District roughly covers nine schools within Letcher County and has a main office in Whitesburg.

Among those schools, Letcher County Central High School recorded the highest enrollment of 750 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
Letcher County Central High School	804	750	-6.7%
West Whitesburg Elementary School	444	470	5.9%
Letcher Elementary & Middle School	390	365	-6.4%
Martha Jane Potter Elementary School	332	304	-8.4%
Cowan Elementary School	286	276	-3.5%
Whitesburg Middle School	177	201	13.6%
Fleming Neon Middle School	178	148	-16.9%
Arlie Boggs Elementary School	133	139	4.5%
Letcher County Alternative Education Center	31	21	-32.3%