Elementary Schools in Knott County

Knott County has five elementary schools—Hindman, Carr Creek, Emmalena, Beaver Creek and Jones Fork—all serving students through grade 8, with enrollments from 153 to 434. Across reported 2025–2026 results, the area is above matched state averages in reading by 5 percentage points, math by 2 and science by 2, but below in writing by 8 points. Results vary considerably from school to school and grade to grade. The clearest overall standout is Jones Fork Elementary School, with a 56% average in math across six grades, compared with 42% for the same grades statewide.

Jones Fork and Hindman Elementary School also lead in reading: their averages are 60% across three reported grades and 59% across six, respectively, versus 49% statewide for Hindman’s matched grades. At the lower end of the school averages, Emmalena Elementary School averages 37% in math and 46% in reading; the gaps between the highest and lowest school averages are 19 and 14 points. Individual grades tell a more mixed story: Carr Creek Elementary School reaches 86% in fourth-grade math but has 20% in eighth-grade math, while Emmalena has a strong 63% in eighth-grade writing. Area writing results overall remain weaker than the state’s.

From 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, the combined matched math-and-reading average rose from 48% to 49%; school trends differed, with Beaver Creek Elementary School up 15 points and Jones Fork down 7. SchoolDigger places Jones Fork at the 81st percentile, Carr Creek at the 56th, Hindman at the 46th, Emmalena at the 45th and Beaver Creek at the 36th; Beaver Creek had been at the 5th percentile in 2022–2023. Student-teacher ratios range from 11.0 at Emmalena to 13.6 at Carr Creek. All schools report free/reduced lunch eligible rates for 2024–2025, ranging from 71% at Hindman to 83% at Beaver Creek; these are context measures, not explanations for achievement. Chronic absenteeism is another shared concern: rates range from 36% to 47%, all above the state’s 24%.