Our Affiliated Project: Jackson City School in Jackson, Kentucky

facts about Jackson City School:

  • Grades served: Preschool – twelfth grade
  • Average enrollment: 350 students
  • Academic schedule: School begins at 8:10 am and ends at 3:00 pm .  The school year typically begins the first week of August and ends the second week of May.  Normal holidays are observed.
  • School facilities: The school facility comprises a shared campus including Jackson Elementary, Middle, and High Schools. Facilities include classrooms and a small, shared cafeteria and gymnasium. There are mobile units for art and music classes.
  • Meals: Breakfast and lunch are served daily.
  • Percentage of students on the Federal Free or Reduced-Price Meal Program: 62%
  • School Curriculum: The curriculum is based on the KY Program of Studies and the KY Core Content. To view the school’s state report card, visit www.Breathitt.k12.ky.us. The school also uses three research-based reading programs: Success for All, Reading Recovery, and Minds in Motion – a program that works to improve the developmental processes of the brain.
  • Sports and activities: Activities include the Extended School Services Program (ESS), academic teams, the Future Problem-Solving team, the Student Technology and Leadership Program, basketball, cheerleading, football, 4-H, intramurals, gymnastics, dance, and the DARE program.

Jackson City School is located in rural and mountainous Breathitt County, Kentucky. Until the 1990s, coal was the foundation of the county’s economy, but the steady decline of the coal mining industry has begun to wreak havoc upon the local economy. Many families, who once depended upon the mines for income, now depend upon part-time employment at minimum wages, welfare, and food stamps. Poverty and unemployment have become intrinsic parts of daily life here, and they affect even the youngest residents.

For this reason, Jackson City School serves as a beacon of hope for the surrounding community. Its teachers work very hard to provide students with a well-rounded and exciting education – the opportunity to rise above the difficult circumstances from which they come and break the cycle of poverty.