Hartstern Elementary

Hartstern Elementary is a moderately sized elementary-level community in Louisville, Kentucky, run under Jefferson County. The school serves 597 students in grades pre-K through 5. That puts it 42% larger than the typical public school in Kentucky, which averages around 421 students.

Within Jefferson County, which oversees 167 schools and 95,124 students, Hartstern Elementary is one campus in the system.

Looking at the student body, Hartstern Elementary records that 40% of students identify as Hispanic, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups; the rest breaks down as 31% Black, 17% White, 6% Asian, 5% multiracial. That is considerably more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 9%.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 33 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 17.9:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 15.4:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. About 65% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

After controlling for student poverty, On a poverty-adjusted basis, Hartstern Elementary sits in the bottom 10% statewide. Predicted proficiency from the FRL regression is roughly 40.9%; actual is 19.5%, a gap of -21.4 points.

Zooming out to the county, the surrounding county (Jefferson County) reports that median household earnings sit near $69,866, 37% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 11%. Across Jefferson County's 175 public schools (combined enrollment of about 95,579 students), Hartstern Elementary is one campus in the mix.

Okolona Elementary is the nearest neighboring public school, about 1.3 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Hartstern Elementary ranks 4th on composite proficiency, above the local average of 17.8%.

The campus sits in a downtown setting.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Hartstern Elementary has ticked up 28%, going from 468 students in 2018 to 597 in 2025. The White share of enrollment edged down from 36% to 17% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio rose from 16.3:1 in 2018 to 17.9:1 today.

On allk12, members of the Hartstern Elementary community share and discuss fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.