East Kentucky Times

There were 746 ninth grade students enrolled in Pike County schools in the 2022-23 school year, 13.7% less than the previous year, according to the Kentucky Department of Education.

Belfry High School welcomed most of the ninth grade students in the county, registering 165 students.

Within Pike County schools, the highest student population was found in 10th grade, with the smallest class sizes seen in preschool.

Statewide, Pike County ranked 17th in enrollment numbers. It was also ranked 17th 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 9th Grade Students Enrolled	% of Student Body	Total Enrollment
Belfry High School	165	28.8%	572
Pike County Central High School	147	21.5%	685
Shelby Valley High School	147	25.3%	581
East Ridge High School	119	25.3%	471
Pikeville High School	92	17.2%	535
Phelps High School	42	16.6%	253
Pike County Virtual Academy	16	11.5%	139
Pike County Day Treatment	10	20.4%	49
Northpoint Academy	8	7.8%	103