East Kentucky Times

There were 72 African American students enrolled in Pike County School District schools in the 2022-23 school year, 7.7% less than the previous year, according to the Kentucky Department of Education.

Data showed that Pike County School District welcomed 8,197 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, African American students comprised 0.9% of the student body to be the third least represented ethnicity in the district.

Pike County School District roughly covers 20 schools within Pike County and has a main office in Pikeville.

Among the 20 schools in Pike County School District, Belfry High School recorded the highest enrollment of African American students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of 21 students.

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.

Year	Total District Enrollment	Total African American Students	African American %
2022-23	8,197	72	0.9%
2021-22	8,245	78	0.9%
2020-21	8,457	86	1%
2019-20	8,770	82	0.9%