James A. Cawood Elementary

James A. Cawood Elementary is an elementary campus of close-knit scale in Harlan, Kentucky, overseen by Harlan County, works with 277 students in grades pre-K through 8. Compared to the state average of about 421 students per school, that is 34% below typical.

Harlan County runs 9 schools in total, collectively educating 3,310 students. James A. Cawood Elementary is one of those campuses.

On demographics, James A. Cawood Elementary lists that the student body is overwhelmingly White (99%).

On the income-and-resources front, The school employs 25 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 10.9:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 15.4:1 average. Roughly 83% of students at James A. Cawood Elementary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, James A. Cawood Elementary is in the OUTPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations model, which fits a per-state line through proficiency and FRL share. Schools with this campus's poverty mix typically land near 34.2%; this one delivers 51.9%, a residual of +17.6 points.

In the broader community, census data for Harlan County shows median household income runs about $41,693, 13% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 21%. Across Harlan County's 15 public schools (combined enrollment of about 4,310 students), James A. Cawood Elementary is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Appalachian Challenge Academy, roughly 0.8 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 4 other public schools cluster around James A. Cawood Elementary. On composite proficiency, James A. Cawood Elementary comes 3rd of 7 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 45.2%.

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

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at James A. Cawood Elementary has fell 30%, going from 394 students in 2018 to 277 in 2025. The White share of enrollment increased from 94% to 99% over that span. Class-load math has narrowed: from 16.2:1 in 2018 to 10.9:1 in 2025.

On the community side, members of the James A. Cawood Elementary community share and discuss open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.