Martha Layne Collins High School

Martha Layne Collins High School is an expansive 9-12 campus in Shelbyville, Kentucky, run under Shelby County. The school instructs 1,157 students in grades 9 through 12. That puts it 107% bigger than the typical public school in Kentucky, which averages around 558 students.

Within Shelby County, which oversees 14 schools and 6,985 students, Martha Layne Collins High School is one campus in the system.

On the student-mix side, Martha Layne Collins High School shows that the most-represented group is White (55%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. The remainder reads as 31% Hispanic, 8% Black, 6% multiracial. That is meaningfully less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 80%.

In terms of school funding signals, On paper, Martha Layne Collins High School has 63 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 18.4:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 16.6:1, putting Martha Layne Collins High School higher than the state norm the norm. About 39% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Martha Layne Collins High School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 50.6%; this one delivers 36.3%.

In the area at large, Shelby County reports that median household income runs about $82,604, roughly 33% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 6%. In all, Shelby County runs 16 public schools (combined enrollment of about 6,985 students), of which Martha Layne Collins High School is one.

Nearest neighbor: Marnel C. Moorman School, around 0.1 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 7 other public schools cluster around Martha Layne Collins High School. Among the 7 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Martha Layne Collins High School ranks 2nd on composite proficiency, above the local average of 34.2%.

The school occupies an outlying site.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count fell 4%: 1,200 students in 2018 compared to 1,157 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 68% to 55% across the same window. Class-load math has loosened: from 15.8:1 in 2018 to 18.4:1 in 2025.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. The community welcomes input from current and former families.