Our Affiliated Site: Eden Elementary School in Inez, Kentucky

facts about Eden Elementary School:

  • Grades Served: Head Start – fifth grade
  • Average Enrollment: 360 students
  • School Facilities: The school building was constructed in 2001 and comprises classrooms, a gymnasium, a cafeteria, a library, and rooms for music, art, and science.
  • Faculty: The faculty includes seventeen classroom teachers, three special education teachers, two speech teachers, four Title I teachers, and teachers for art, music, and physical education. The school offers students’ families the services of a Family Resource Center.
  • Meals: Breakfast and lunch are served daily.
  • Percentage of Students on the Federal Free or Reduced-Price Meal Program: 86%
  • School Curriculum: The curriculum is based on the KY Program of Studies and the KY Core Content.
  • Sports and Activities: Extracurricular activities include basketball teams, track & field, cheerleading, dance team, drill team, academic team, spelling team, Girl Scouts, Family Literacy Night, Born Learning Academy, and Beta Club.
  • Academic Schedule: The school year typically begins the first week of August and ends the second week of May. Normal holidays are observed.

Eden Elementary School is located in Inez, Kentucky. To most Americans, Kentucky means thick carpets of the greenest grass, thoroughbred horses, Churchill Downs, the Derby, and brave pioneers exemplified by Daniel Boone. Tourists flock to this spectacular state’s many sites each year. However, another, much-less-heralded Kentucky exists, lying far to the east of the lush grassy countryside. Although nestled in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains, it is a region where poverty and despair hold sway. In Martin County, where Eden Elementary School is located, coal was mined and then moved by rail throughout the country.

As mines began to close and automation took over, miners were left without work. Today, unemployment and poverty run rampant in eastern, rural Kentucky. The economic decline has resulted in the absence of cultural and recreational activities. There are no theaters, bowling alleys, skating rinks, YMCAs, or other sources of amusement. Therefore, schools such as Eden Elementary function both as academic and cultural centers for the impoverished communities they serve.