Russell Cave Elementary School

Russell Cave Elementary School, a compact primary school in Lexington, Kentucky, operated by Fayette County, works with 294 students, covering grades pre-K through 5. Compared to the state average of about 421 students per school, that is 30% leaner than typical.

Fayette County comprises 73 schools with combined enrollment of 42,138 students; Russell Cave Elementary School is among them.

On the student-mix side, Russell Cave Elementary School reports that 68% of the student body identifies as Hispanic. Beyond that, the school lists 21% Black, 7% White, 3% multiracial. That is considerably more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 10%.

Looking at school resources, On paper, Russell Cave Elementary School has 26 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 11.4:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 15.4:1, putting Russell Cave Elementary School tighter than the state norm the norm. Around 71% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, often used as a Title I proxy. By comparison, Fayette County runs at roughly 50%, so the school's eligibility rate is above the surrounding baseline.

After controlling for student poverty, Russell Cave Elementary School is in the bottom 10% of Kentucky public schools. The BeatsExpectations model predicts schools with this FRL share to land around 38.5%; Russell Cave Elementary School posts 16.9%, -21.7 points below that line.

Zooming out to the county, Fayette County reports that median household earnings sit near $69,479, 48% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 9%. Across Fayette County's 81 public schools (combined enrollment of about 42,142 students), Russell Cave Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Mary Todd Elementary School, around 2.6 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, Russell Cave Elementary School comes 8th of 8 in the immediate cluster, beneath the nearby-schools average of 29.2%.

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

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Russell Cave Elementary School has ticked up 17%, going from 252 students in 2018 to 294 in 2025. The Black share of enrollment expanded from 6% to 21% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio grew from 9.5:1 in 2018 to 11.4:1 today.

On allk12, recent activity here tends to focus on fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.