The top reported proficiency rate is 60% in English language arts. The lowest is 47% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Frakes School Center
Frakes School Center serves students from early childhood through eighth grade in the remote unincorporated community of Frakes, Kentucky, a tiny rural settlement in the Cumberland Mountains of southeastern Bell County. The school is part of the Bell County district and its grade span ends at eighth grade, so there is no high school graduation rate to report from this campus; students who live here move on to a Bell County high school after completing eighth grade.
The student body is small and almost entirely white, with a very modest number of students from other racial backgrounds. A substantial majority of the families qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school in a high-poverty context. Enrollment runs from a prekindergarten program through eighth grade, with class sizes that appear quite small at each level.
State test results for the most recent year are limited in what they reveal. Kentucky's testing program suppressed results for many grade-and-subject combinations, which typically happens when the number of students tested is very small. In the few instances where results were reported, fifth-grade math showed about half of students meeting the state's proficient or above mark, and fifth- and sixth-grade English language arts both showed roughly three-fifths of students reaching that level. For most other tested grades in math, English, science, and social studies, the data was suppressed entirely. The school's overall proficiency index, calculated across all tested subjects and grades where results were available, placed Frakes School Center in the top quartile relative to other districts in Bell County. A parent reading these results will want to keep in mind the very small number of students; a single year's data from a handful of children can be volatile and does not always reflect the school's broader pattern, even if it is the best information the state publishes.
The school itself is a regular public school and is not a charter or magnet. No information was available about its Title I status, discipline rates, staffing ratios, or course access. The school's location is deeply rural. Frakes is an unincorporated community with no downtown, no commercial district, and no public transit. The post office serves as the community touchpoint. Roads wind through mountain terrain and a personal vehicle is a necessity. Homes in the area are spread across ridge-and-hollow geography typical of this part of Kentucky. Larger towns such as Middlesboro and Pineville, where broader services and institutions are found, are roughly a short drive away.
No recent major changes or initiatives were found for the Bell County district beyond routine tax rate adjustments; the district's trajectory appears stable rather than in a period of transformation.
For a family considering this school, the context matters as much as the test results do. This is a very small school in a very remote place, serving a high-poverty population, with many state test results suppressed due to low student numbers. The reported results on the few non-suppressed subjects place the school on the stronger side within Bell County, but the thinness of the data means a parent would want to talk directly with the school about how it measures and tracks student progress from year to year. The school's small size could mean close relationships between staff and students, but it also means fewer specialized course offerings than what a larger school might provide. There is no high school here, so a family must plan for eventual transition to a county high school. The rural Appalachian setting offers quiet, natural surroundings and proximity to the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, but it also means long drives to shopping, medical care, and most civic life. This school fits a family committed to a small, rural, community-rooted elementary and middle school experience in a part of Kentucky that has seen little demographic or economic change in recent years.
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