Charles H. Kelly Elementary School, Burlington KY

Original Research by School Decision on Charles H. Kelly Elementary School

Charles H. Kelly Elementary School is a regular public elementary school in Burlington, Kentucky, serving children from preschool through fifth grade. It is part of the Boone County Schools district, the county’s primary public school system. The school sits in a suburban unincorporated community that also functions as the county seat of Boone County, a role that gives Burlington a historic public square and a courthouse as civic anchors. The area has seen sustained population growth in recent years, and the district has responded by opening a new elementary school in the nearby Hebron corridor to relieve enrollment pressure. That growth context matters for families relocating into the Burlington area.

On state assessments, Kelly Elementary shows a pattern of stronger performance in the upper elementary grades. Reading and math proficiency among fourth and fifth graders sits at a solid level, with the school’s results in those grades exceeding what a parent might expect from a typical elementary in the region. The fifth grade reading cohort, for instance, posted proficiency at a rate that points to a clear majority of students meeting the state’s bar. Social studies in fifth grade also comes in at a strong level. Math in third grade and reading in third grade are less uniform; roughly half of third graders reached proficiency in each subject, which is a softer spot a parent may want to look into further with the school. Science, tested in fourth grade, falls noticeably lower than the other subjects and is the one area where the school’s performance is clearly below the rest of its own pattern. Overall, when you combine all tested subjects and grades into a single measure, Kelly Elementary lands in the top quartile relative to districts in Boone County, meaning its aggregated proficiency outpaces the district-wide averages of both systems in the county.

The enrollment skews heavily white, which reflects the demographics of the surrounding community. A substantial share of students come from low-income households as measured by free and reduced-price meal eligibility, indicating an economically mixed student body. The school does not have data on the share of students with disabilities or English learners; those figures were not reported for the current period. The student population is moderate for an elementary school that serves a full PK-5 range, with each grade carrying a comparable cohort size.

Burlington itself is primarily residential and suburban, built along the Burlington Pike corridor, and its historic core remains around the Publick Square. Housing values in the area are above the state median and have edged upward, though they remain below the national benchmark. Rent and home prices suggest a community that is moderately expensive for its region but not at the top of the Cincinnati metro market. The district’s recent strategic plan emphasizes career pathways and college readiness, though that focus directly affects secondary schools more than elementary instruction. For families of younger children, the key takeaway is that Kelly Elementary sits in a growing, mostly stable suburban district with a track record of above-average academic results in the upper grades and a noticeable dip in early-grade math and in fourth-grade science. A parent weighing options should look closely at how the school supports those early elementary years and whether the science curriculum is an area of concern or one the school is actively addressing.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 357%

School 57% · District 55% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 470%

School 70% · District 57% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 352%

School 52% · District 54% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 5 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 475%

School 75% · District 59% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 577%

School 77% · District 61% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Science

Grade 433%

School 33% · District 44% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 571%

School 71% · District 48% · ▲ 23 pts above district

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

This schoolBoone County, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income42%Higher-income73%31 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income64%Higher-income80%16 pp gap