Emmalena Elementary School, Emmalena KY

Original Research by School Decision on Emmalena Elementary School

Emmalena Elementary School sits in the narrow valley of Troublesome Creek, serving as the primary civic and educational anchor for this rural, unincorporated Appalachian community. The school runs from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, meaning students finish their middle-school years here and then move on to a high school elsewhere in Knott County. The setting is car-dependent and dispersed, with no downtown or traditional street life; daily life revolves around the school, the post office, and Camp Nathanael, a religious youth camp.

The student body is small and racially homogeneous, and a substantial share of families qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. This is a community that experienced significant disruption from the July 2022 Eastern Kentucky flood, which submerged parts of Camp Nathanael and required disaster relief. Housing values in the area are low and have declined notably, reflecting the economic constraints of the region.

State assessment results from the most recent testing year give a mixed picture of academic achievement. In reading, some elementary grades performed well, with a majority of third graders and a large majority of fifth graders meeting proficiency benchmarks. However, results in the middle grades were softer: fewer than half of sixth graders and fewer than half of eighth graders reached that bar, and seventh-grade reading proficiency was low. Results for fourth-grade reading were suppressed, likely due to a small testing group. In math, third graders had a solid showing, but fourth and fifth graders posted lower numbers. Sixth-grade math was moderate, and eighth-grade math was at the midpoint. Seventh-grade math data was also suppressed. Science results for fourth and seventh grades were suppressed entirely, which may reflect very small cohort sizes. In social studies, fifth and eighth graders each had about half of students reaching proficiency, a middling outcome.

Because the school does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to evaluate, and the district brief turned up no major recent changes to report. The school partners with organizations such as Save the Children and Hindman Settlement School, a sign of external support for literacy and community programming. No data on chronic absenteeism, staffing ratios, or course access was available in the record; a parent interested in those details would need to inquire directly with the school.

Given the single-district county, there is no meaningful comparison to other local districts. Emmalena Elementary operates as the only elementary-and-middle option in its immediate area. For a family considering this school, the key takeaway is that it offers a full PK-8 pathway in a tight-knit, rural setting where the school is the center of community life. Academic performance is uneven across grades and subjects, with some bright spots in early reading and some soft spots in middle-school math and reading. The high proportion of students from low-income households suggests a population that may benefit from additional supports, and the partnership networks already in place indicate some level of external investment. Families looking for a small, community-rooted school in eastern Kentucky will find a straightforward option here; those seeking a wider array of programs or more consistent test results may want to explore what the district offers at the high school level after eighth grade.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 353%

School 53% · District 54% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 10 pts above state median

Grade 430%

School 30% · District 50% · ▼ 20 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median

Grade 530%

School 30% · District 36% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median

Grade 640%

School 40% · District 43% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median

Grade 850%

School 50% · District 40% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 9 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 363%

School 63% · District 62% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median

Grade 570%

School 70% · District 60% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median

Grade 647%

School 47% · District 58% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median

Grade 733%

School 33% · District 45% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median

Grade 842%

School 42% · District 43% · ▼ 1 pts below district

even with state median

Social studies

Grade 548%

School 48% · District 40% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median

Grade 850%

School 50% · District 39% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 12 pts above state median

This schoolKnott 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.