Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 40356

ZIP code 40356 has six elementary schools: five serve grades 1–5 and one, Jessamine Early Learning Village, serves prekindergarten through kindergarten. The five schools with comparable test results enroll 2,611 students, averaging 522 each, with enrollments from 465 to 570. Their 2025–2026 chronic absenteeism rates were 9.6%–11.7%, below the state’s 23.5%. The most important finding is that school results vary substantially by grade and subject: fourth-grade math spans 23 points, from 38% to 61%, and fifth-grade social studies spans 21 points, from 30% to 51%.

Several schools stand out in particular subjects rather than across the board. Rosenwald Dunbar led fourth-grade math with 61%, 16 points above the other schools’ average and 18 above the state; its fourth-grade reading result was 55%, 9 points above the other schools’ average. Red Oak led fifth-grade math at 57% and social studies at 51%, respectively 14 and 13 points above the state. Brookside led fifth-grade reading at 63%, 12 points above the state, and writing at 40%, 5 points above. At the lower end, Nicholasville Elementary had the lowest fifth-grade writing, social studies and editing/mechanics results, though it led third-grade math and fourth-grade science. Hattie C. Warner was below state results in fourth-grade math and reading but above them in fifth-grade social studies and editing/mechanics.

Recent trends are mixed: across 50 comparable results, local scores fell by about 1 point on average from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, while state benchmarks rose by less than 1 point. Reading weakened relative to the state, although the schools’ fifth-grade reading average was 55% versus 51% statewide. SchoolDigger’s ranking history improved most for Brookside, rising 21 percentile points from 2023–2024 to 2025–2026; Hattie C. Warner fell 13 points. School context also differs: in 2024–2025, Nicholasville had the highest reported free/reduced lunch eligible share at 68% and the lowest student-teacher ratio at 12.1, while Red Oak had a 59% share and the highest ratio at 14.4. These measures do not consistently track results, so comparing the specific grade and subjects relevant to a child may be more useful than relying on one overall indicator.