Original Research by School Decision on Valley Elementary School
Valley Elementary School, located in Owensboro, Kentucky, serves students from kindergarten through eighth grade and is classified as an alternative school. This designation is the single most important fact for a parent or resident to understand, because it signals that the school is specifically structured to serve students whose needs are not met in a traditional classroom setting. Alternative schools often have smaller enrollments, more individualized academic and behavioral supports, and a therapeutic or restorative approach to education; the available data aligns with that picture.
The total enrollment is very small, typical of an alternative setting. The student body is predominantly white, with Black students making up a notable share and small numbers of Asian and Hispanic students also enrolled. More than half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a measure that indicates a majority of families face economic disadvantage. The school serves grades one through eight, though grade-level counts are tiny, with most grade cohorts having only a handful of students.
State testing data for the most recent year is suppressed. This suppression is common in small alternative schools, where the number of test-takers in a given grade is so low that state reporting rules do not release results to protect student privacy. The same applies across all tested subjects and grades, from math and English language arts in every tested grade to science and social studies. Because the data is suppressed, it is not possible to describe the school’s academic proficiency relative to other schools in Daviess County or to the state. A parent considering this placement would want to discuss academic progress measures directly with the school, as the standard public dashboard offers no information here.
There is no graduation rate to report, because Valley Elementary does not serve high school grades. Chronic absenteeism data is also absent from the available record, as are staffing ratios, discipline data, and course access information. These gaps make it difficult to construct a full picture of the school environment, but the alternative-school classification itself suggests that staffing and behavior supports are central to the program.
The school is part of the Daviess County school district, which covers the county outside the Owensboro city district. The neighborhood comparison tool was unable to position the school on standard metrics against other districts in Daviess County, because the proficiency index and other key measures are missing for Valley. That is not a judgment; it is a structural consequence of the school’s size and type.
Owensboro is a mid-sized city on the Ohio River, functioning as a regional hub for manufacturing, healthcare, and culture. The economy includes bourbon distilleries, steel and aluminum production, and a large healthcare sector anchored by Owensboro Health. The downtown riverfront has seen substantial redevelopment and hosts festivals including the International Bar-B-Q Festival and the ROMP bluegrass festival. Housing values in the area are somewhat below the national average, and rents are a modest share of income by national standards, making the region affordable relative to much of the country. The area has seen stable population numbers in recent years.
For a parent reading this, the fundamental question is whether an alternative-school setting is the right match for their child. Valley Elementary is not a general-assignment neighborhood school where a family can look up test scores and compare. It is a targeted program for students who need a different structure, often those with behavioral, emotional, or learning challenges that a traditional elementary or middle school has not been able to accommodate. The district brief offered no recent policy or program changes to report, so the school’s approach may be stable but that is not confirmed. Families should contact the school directly to understand its specific curriculum, therapeutic supports, transition planning, and how academic progress is measured for each student.
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