Data-Driven Education Journalism for the Bluegrass State
Education News & Data
Local education reporting from every corner of Kentucky, grounded in Kentucky Department of Education data.
Pulaski County's new superintendent says his first year is for listening, and he wants the district to stay flexible while enrollment moves.
Garrard County's new superintendent has spent his whole career in the district. He is drafting an enrollment plan after three straight years of decline in Kentucky's published record.
Walton-Verona's new superintendent is planning around Boone County growth that has not reached the enrollment file yet. The district has held inside a 58-student band for six years, and its kindergarten class is 26 students smaller than its senior class.
Henry County Public Schools' new superintendent arrives from the Kentucky Department of Education, where he coached schools through the state's improvement program.
Erlanger-Elsmere has moved inside a 130-student band for six years. Its new superintendent, who grew up in the district and never wanted to lead anywhere else, says that predictability is what lets him plan.
The lifelong Muhlenberg County resident says listening, relationships, and understanding why families choose other options will shape his first year as superintendent.
After beginning in Green County as a student teacher, Melissa Collison will lead Green County Intermediate with a focus on academic and emotional support.
Students with disabilities graduate at 83.1% in Kentucky, a 10.5-point gap from the state rate. Nationally, that gap is 13 points.
The gap between Kentucky's four-year and five-year graduation rates fell to 0.6 percentage points in 2025, down from 2.1 points during COVID. But English learners still gain nearly 7 points from extra time.
English learners graduate at 79%, 14.6 points below the state average, after a single-year reversal erased four years of progress.
Kentucky's Hispanic graduation rate climbed 5 points from 2022 to 2024, then dropped 2.1 points in 2025, the only racial group to decline while every other improved.
Foster care students in Kentucky graduate at 82.5%, far above the national norm of 50-65%, after a 15-point climb since 2021.
JCPS climbed from 83.7% to 88.7% graduation rate since 2020, with Black students gaining nearly 9 points and briefly surpassing white students in 2024.
Black students in Kentucky graduate at 91.1%, cutting the gap with white students from 9.5 points to 3.9 since 2020. Both groups are above 90%.
Kentucky's 4-year graduation rate hit 93.6% in 2025, nearly 7 points above the national average, with Black students driving the largest gains.
