There were 4,518 students enrolled in Johnson County schools in 2022-23 school year

KY Commissioner of Education Jason Glass 2023 | Kentucky Department of Education

By East Kentucky Times

Sep 1, 2024

There were 4,518 students enrolled in Johnson County schools in the 2022-23 school year, 3.3% more than the previous year, according to the Kentucky Department of Education.

Boys made up 51.4% of the county student body, while the other 48.6% were girls.

Data also showed that white students made up 96.1% of the student body, the largest percentage in Johnson County schools, followed by 1.4% of Hispanic students, 1.2% of multiracial students and 0.6% of Asian students.

Johnson Central High School had the highest enrollment among Johnson County’s 10 schools in the 2022-23 cycle, welcoming 1,003 students.

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.

Kentucky is in the midst of a statewide teacher shortage as turnover rates spiked to 10.9% in 2023, up from an 8.9% nine-year average. This issue is more prominent in schools with more low-income and minority students.

Data also shows that 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.

Enrollment in Johnson County Schools Over 3 Years

Enrollment in Johnson County Schools Compared to Previous Year

School Name	Total Enrollment in 2022	Total Enrollment in 2023	% change
Johnson Central High School	1,014	1,003	-1.1%
Johnson County Middle School	508	493	-3%
Paintsville Elementary School	445	467	4.9%
Highland Elementary School	441	463	5%
Porter Elementary School	429	445	3.7%
W. R. Castle Memorial Elementary School	431	421	-2.4%
Central Elementary School	384	385	0.3%
Paintsville High School	345	352	2%
Johnson County Eagle Academy	493	263	-87.5%
Flat Gap Elementary School	222	226	1.8%