NE Kentucky News

There were 199 preschool students enrolled in Carter County schools in the 2022-23 school year, 25.2% more than the previous year, according to the Kentucky Department of Education.

Prichard Elementary School welcomed most of the preschool students in the county, registering 60 students.

Within Carter County schools, the highest student population was found in ninth grade, with the smallest class sizes seen in preschool.

Statewide, Carter County ranked 44th in enrollment numbers. It was also ranked 44th 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 Preschool Students Enrolled	% of Student Body	Total Enrollment
Prichard Elementary School	60	9%	668
Heritage Elementary School	43	11.7%	367
Olive Hill Elementary School	30	7.2%	415
Carter City Elementary School	27	16.9%	160
Tygart Creek Elementary School	20	5.3%	375
Star Elementary School	19	13.1%	145