East Pennyroyal News

There were 58 multiracial students enrolled in Rockcastle County School District schools in the 2022-23 school year, 3.6% more than the previous year, according to the Kentucky Department of Education.

Data showed that Rockcastle County School District welcomed 2,990 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, multiracial students comprised 1.9% of the student body to be the third most represented ethnicity in the district.

Rockcastle County School District roughly covers six schools within Rockcastle County and has a main office in Mount Vernon.

Among the six schools in Rockcastle County School District, Rockcastle County Middle School and Rockcastle County High School recorded the highest enrollment of multiracial students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of 15 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 Multiracial Students	Multiracial %
2022-23	2,990	58	1.9%
2021-22	2,985	56	1.9%
2020-21	2,886	51	1.8%
2019-20	2,906	43	1.5%