Paducah Head Start Preschool

Paducah Head Start Preschool, a tight-knit primary school in Paducah, Kentucky, part of Paducah Independent, serves 251 students, covering grade pre-K. By comparison, Kentucky's public schools average about 421 students each, so Paducah Head Start Preschool sits 40% below that benchmark.

Paducah Independent comprises 7 schools with combined enrollment of 3,103 students; Paducah Head Start Preschool is among them.

In terms of who attends, Paducah Head Start Preschool logs that 47% of students identify as Black, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Other groups include 24% White, 20% multiracial, 10% Hispanic. The wider county runs roughly 10% Black, putting the school's mix noticeably more Black than the area baseline.

On the resource side, Staff filings list 18 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 13.9:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 15.4:1, putting Paducah Head Start Preschool tighter than the state norm the norm. Around 86% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, often used as a Title I proxy. That share is north of McCracken County's rate of about 57%.

In the surrounding community, the surrounding county (McCracken County) shows that median household income runs about $64,373, roughly 29% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 11%. In all, McCracken County runs 22 public schools (combined enrollment of about 9,883 students), of which Paducah Head Start Preschool is one.

Nearest neighbor: Paducah Tilghman High School, around 0.1 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Paducah Head Start Preschool.

Geographically, the school is in an urban area.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count fell 8%: 273 students in 2018 compared to 251 in 2025. Black enrollment moved from 51% to 47% across the same window. Class-load math has narrowed: from 136.5:1 in 2018 to 13.9:1 in 2025.

On this page, posts here usually surface around pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.