East Pennyroyal News

Pine Knot Intermediate School had the highest enrollment among McCreary County schools, welcoming 983 students during the 2022-23 school year, according to the Kentucky Department of Education.

Of all the students welcomed in the 2022-23 school year, 54.3% of them were boys, and 45.7% were girls.

Data also showed that the majority of students were white, making up 98.1% of Pine Knot Intermediate School's total enrollment.

Among the four schools in McCreary County, McCreary Central High School ranked second in enrollment numbers with 800 students, while Whitley City Elementary School welcomed 626 students and ranked third in the 2022-23 school year.

Pine Knot Intermediate School is part of McCreary County School District, which roughly covers schools within McCreary County and has a main office in Stearns.

In the previous school year, Pine Knot Intermediate School also had the highest number of students among McCreary County schools.

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.

School name	City	Total School Enrollment
Pine Knot Intermediate School	Pine Knot	983
McCreary Central High School	Stearns	800
Whitley City Elementary School	Whitley City	626
McCreary County Middle School	Stearns	455