Louisville City Wire

There were 8,651 eighth grade students enrolled in Jefferson County schools in the 2022-23 school year, 1.7% less than the previous year, according to the Kentucky Department of Education.

Noe Middle School welcomed most of the eighth grade students in the county, registering 463 students.

Within Jefferson County schools, the highest student population was found in ninth grade, with the smallest class sizes seen in preschool.

Statewide, Jefferson County ranked first in enrollment numbers. It was also ranked first the year before.

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	# of 8th Grade Students Enrolled	% of Student Body	Total Enrollment
Noe Middle School	463	32.7%	1,415
Stuart Academy	454	34%	1,334
Westport Middle School	445	32.9%	1,354
Marion C. Moore School	419	15.4%	2,715
Crosby Middle School	414	36.1%	1,148
Farnsley Middle School	394	35.4%	1,112
Ramsey Middle School	373	32.7%	1,141
Lassiter Middle School	360	32.4%	1,112
Thomas Jefferson Middle School	341	31.5%	1,082
Newburg Middle School	339	31.6%	1,072
Meyzeek Middle School	324	31.8%	1,020
Jefferson County Traditional Middle School	302	33.7%	897
Conway Middle School	293	35.8%	818
Kammerer Middle School	284	35.5%	801
Highland Middle School	282	31.8%	888
Frederick Law Olmsted Academy South	252	36.4%	693
Johnson Traditional Middle School	242	31.8%	762
Pathfinder School of Innovation	237	9.9%	2,396
Western Middle School for the Arts	235	35.1%	669
Peace Academy	233	12.5%	1,858
Carrithers Middle School	220	33.3%	661
Barret Traditional Middle School	214	32.8%	653
Frederick Law Olmsted Academy North	207	34%	609
Newcomer Academy	193	13.4%	1,445
Knight Middle School	181	34.2%	529
The Brook-Kmi	151	23.8%	634
W.E.B. Dubois Academy	136	22.9%	594
Grace M. James Academy of Excellence	124	34.1%	364
Minor Daniels Academy	89	17.9%	496
Ackerly	79	17%	466
J. Graham Brown School	75	10.1%	742
The Phoenix School of Discovery	62	15%	412
Anchorage Independent Public School	43	10.5%	411
The Academy @ Shawnee	36	5.9%	609
Home of the Innocents School	22	16.4%	134
Waller-Williams Environmental	21	17.6%	119
Mary Jo and William MacDonald Maryhurst	20	15.7%	127
Brooklawn	19	15.8%	120
Jefferson Regional Juvenile Detention Ce	12	8.3%	145
St. Joseph Children's Home	10	14.3%	70
Liberty High School	10	5.4%	184
Boys & Girls Haven	9	15.5%	58
Churchill Park School	9	7.4%	122
Kentucky School for the Blind	8	10.5%	76
The Brook-Dupont	4	1%	418
Georgia Chaffee Teenage Parent Program	3	4.1%	74
Home of the Innocents Discovery	3	8.6%	35
Breckinridge Metropolitan High School	2	0.9%	235
Binet School	2	4.3%	46
Louisville Day	1	6.7%	15