East Pennyroyal News

There were 96 African American students enrolled in Wayne County School District schools in the 2022-23 school year, 29.7% more than the previous year, according to the Kentucky Department of Education.

Data showed that Wayne County School District welcomed 3,434 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, African American students comprised 2.8% of the student body to be the third most represented ethnicity in the district.

Wayne County School District roughly covers eight schools within Wayne County and has a main office in Monticello.

Among the eight schools in Wayne County School District, Lake Cumberland Youth Development Center recorded the highest enrollment of African American students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of 43 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	3,434	96	2.8%
2021-22	3,404	74	2.2%
2020-21	3,357	73	2.2%
2019-20	3,482	87	2.5%