Our Affiliated Project: Marie Roberts-Caney Elementary School in
Lost Creek, Kentucky

facts about Marie Roberts-Caney Elementary School:

  • Grades served: Preschool – seventh grade
  • Average enrollment: 295 students
  • School facilities: The school houses classrooms, a gymnasium, a cafeteria, a library, a computer lab, and an outdoor classroom.
  • Meals: Breakfast and lunch are served daily.
  • Percentage of students on the Federal Free or Reduced-Price Meal Program: 79%
  • 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 breathitt.k12.ky.us.
  • Sports and activities: Sports and activities include academic team, boys’ basketball and football, girls’ basketball, cheerleading, Girl Scouts, Brownies, and Daisies.
  • Academic schedule: The school year typically begins the first week of August and ends the second week of May. Normal holidays are observed.
  • Special education: Services include the “Reading Recovery Program” for children considered at-risk in reading and writing; speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, mental health counseling, and services for visually impaired students (a significant number of Breathitt County children suffer from Retinitis Pigmentosa, a hereditary disease that eventually causes blindness).

Marie Roberts-Caney Elementary School is located in Lost Creek, Kentucky, in Breathitt County.  Breathitt County is the second-largest county in the southeastern Appalachian section of the state and has been identified as one of the 100 poorest counties in the United States.  At one time, the coal mining industry provided steady, though dangerous, employment for the majority of the county’s residents. With the decline in the coal industry in recent years, those who once earned a living in the mines are now forced to subsist on part-time employment, welfare, and food stamps.

As a result of this poverty, Breathitt County High School has the highest student dropout rate in Kentucky. Teachers at the county’s elementary schools have a difficult time instilling an interest in and love of learning in many of their students who come from impoverished homes. Marie Roberts-Caney Elementary School serves as a safe haven for the children in this area, providing them with support and a well-rounded education.