East Pennyroyal News

There were 212 African American students enrolled in Adair County School District schools in the 2022-23 school year, 133% more than the previous year, according to the Kentucky Department of Education.

Data showed that Adair County School District welcomed 3,123 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, African American students comprised 6.8% of the student body to be the second most represented ethnicity in the district.

Adair County School District roughly covers five schools within Adair County and has a main office in Columbia.

Among the five schools in Adair County School District, Adair Learning Academy recorded the highest enrollment of African American students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of 154 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	3,123	212	6.8%
2021-22	2,910	91	3.1%
2020-21	2,919	86	2.9%
2019-20	3,042	87	2.9%