Foster Heights Elementary School

Foster Heights Elementary School is a K-5 school of medium-sized scale in Bardstown, Kentucky, one of the schools within Nelson County, caters to 588 students in grades K through 5. By comparison, Kentucky's public schools average about 421 students each, so Foster Heights Elementary School sits 40% larger than that benchmark.

Nelson County runs 12 schools in total, collectively educating 4,178 students. Foster Heights Elementary School is one of those campuses.

In terms of who attends, Foster Heights Elementary School shows that 84% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority. Other groups include 6% Hispanic, 6% multiracial, 3% Black.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 43 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 13.7:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 15.4:1, putting Foster Heights Elementary School tighter than the state norm the norm. About 56% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

After controlling for student poverty, Foster Heights Elementary School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 44.1% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 35.2%.

Zooming out to the county, ACS estimates for Nelson County put the typical household earns roughly $69,562 per year, about 24% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 9%. Foster Heights Elementary School is one of 20 public schools in Nelson County (combined enrollment of about 7,047 students).

The closest other public school is Bardstown High School, roughly 0.7 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 4 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Foster Heights Elementary School ranks 4th on composite proficiency, beneath the local average of 40.2%.

Geographically, the school is in a small-town area.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count ticked down 8%: 639 students in 2018 compared to 588 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share edged down from 90% to 84%. Class-load math has fell: from 15.8:1 in 2018 to 13.7:1 in 2025.

Within the allk12 community for this school, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.