East Bernstadt Elementary School, East Bernstadt KY

Original Research by School Decision on East Bernstadt Elementary School

East Bernstadt Elementary School serves students from preschool through eighth grade, making it the only school in the small East Bernstadt Independent district. Because the district ends at eighth grade, families send their children elsewhere for high school, typically to schools in the larger Laurel County Public Schools system. This K-8 arrangement means the school has no graduation rate to report; the academic story here is about the elementary and middle grades.

The school sits in a quiet, low-density census-designated place rooted in coal mining history and Swiss immigrant settlement. Most residents own their homes, and many retirees live in the area. The community is oriented around highway access rather than a walkable center, and the school itself is located along a highway rather than in a town center. Housing is affordable, with home values well below state and national benchmarks, and the cost of living is low. Proximity to London, the county seat, provides access to broader services and employment. A regional park and the nearby Daniel Boone National Forest offer outdoor recreation.

On state assessments, the school's proficiency rates vary noticeably from grade to grade and subject to subject. In reading, several grade levels show strong results, with a substantial majority of students meeting the state's proficiency standard. A couple of those grades performed particularly well. In math, the pattern is more mixed: some grades have a solid majority of students at proficiency, while others have fewer than half reaching that bar. The same variation appears in science, where only one grade band was reported and its result was lower. Social studies results were more even, with the higher grade tested showing a clear majority proficient. Small enrollment in the upper grades means that some results for seventh grade are suppressed for privacy reasons, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about that cohort's performance. The proficiency index, which averages across all tested subjects and grades, places the school in the top quartile relative to the other districts in Laurel County. That is a strong showing, though it is worth noting that the comparison set is very small, just two districts, so the position conveys less differentiation than it would in a larger cohort.

Enrollment is moderate for a K-8 school, with grade sizes generally in the range typical of a small, single-school district. The student body is predominantly white, reflecting the surrounding community. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which is an indicator of the area's economic profile. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the source materials.

The East Bernstadt Independent district did not have publicly reported recent changes or strategic priorities in the materials reviewed, so there is little to say about broader district direction. The school itself is a regular public school with no charter or magnet status. It does not serve high school grades, so families considering this school should plan for a transition after eighth grade. The community is slow-growing, residential, and affordable, with a historical identity that still shapes its character. For a family looking for a small K-8 environment in a quiet, low-cost setting, this school fits that profile. The academic picture is one of strength in reading for many grades, more uneven math results that a parent may want to look into further with the school, and a overall performance that is favorable within a very small local peer group.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 363%

School 63% · District 63%

▲ 20 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 439%

School 39% · District 39%

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

Grade 548%

School 48% · District 48%

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 663%

School 63% · District 63%

▲ 21 pts above state median

Grade 742%

School 42% · District 42%

▼ 1 pts below state median

Grade 864%

School 64% · District 64%

▲ 23 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 359%

School 59% · District 59%

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 473%

School 73% · District 73%

▲ 23 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 587%

School 87% · District 87%

▲ 36 pts above state median

Grade 667%

School 67% · District 67%

▲ 13 pts above state median

Grade 764%

School 64% · District 64%

▲ 15 pts above state median

Grade 873%

School 73% · District 73%

▲ 31 pts above state median

Science

Grade 441%

School 41% · District 41%

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 557%

School 57% · District 57%

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 868%

School 68% · District 68%

▲ 30 pts above state median

This schoolEast Bernstadt Independent, 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-income53%Higher-income68%15 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income57%Higher-income84%27 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income65%Higher-income60%5 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income75%Higher-income70%5 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income56%Higher-income74%18 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income50%Higher-income84%34 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income58%Higher-income70%12 pp gap