Cardinal Innovation Center

Cardinal Innovation Center is a small alternative school in Winchester, Kentucky, serving grades K–12 with 19 students; no other schools were listed within 20 miles. The most urgent concern is chronic absenteeism: in 2025–2026, 71% of students were chronically absent, compared with 30% in Clark County and 24% statewide. The rate fell 11 points from the prior year, but remained 41 points above the district and 47 points above the state. Chronic absenteeism remains the clearest concern for families.

There are no nearby schools to compare, but the reported 2025–2026 KSA results were consistently below both district and state results for the same grade and subject. Reading was weakest relative to the state: grade 6 proficiency was 23%, versus 54% statewide, a 31-point gap. Editing and Mechanics was comparatively strongest against the state, though still behind: grade 11 was 25%, versus 40%, a 15-point gap. The one reported graduation rate was also lower: in 2023–2024, it was 81%, compared with 95% in the district and 92% statewide.

Some reported results improved over time, but not all comparisons moved in the same direction. Grade 11 ACT Reading rose from 0% in 2022–2023 to 36% in 2023–2024, narrowing the gap to the state from 44 points to 6; these are year-to-year results, not a matched group of students. Grade 10 KSA Mathematics increased from 13% in 2022–2023 to 16% in 2025–2026, while its gap to the state widened from 21 to 24 points. The reported student-teacher ratio was 1.7 in 2024–2025. The school reported 79% free/reduced lunch eligible that year, down from 93% in 2022–2023. SchoolDigger’s 1-star rating and rank of 124 out of 158 districts (22nd percentile) are for the district, not the school; the supplied data do not give the school its own SchoolDigger rank or rating.