NE Kentucky News

There were 343 first grade students enrolled in Carter County schools in the 2022-23 school year, 4.3% more than the previous year, according to the Kentucky Department of Education.

Prichard Elementary School welcomed most of the first grade students in the county, registering 123 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 1st Grade Students Enrolled	% of Student Body	Total Enrollment
Prichard Elementary School	123	18.4%	668
Olive Hill Elementary School	72	17.3%	415
Heritage Elementary School	51	13.9%	367
Tygart Creek Elementary School	50	13.3%	375
Star Elementary School	26	17.9%	145
Carter City Elementary School	19	11.9%	160
Carter Virtual Academy	2	2%	102