Rutherford Elementary

Rutherford Elementary is a mid-tier primary school in Louisville, Kentucky, run under Jefferson County. The school works with 476 students in grades pre-K through 5.

Across the 167 schools in Jefferson County (95,124 students total), Rutherford Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Demographically, Rutherford Elementary reports that the most-represented group is Black (42%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. The remainder is composed of 33% Hispanic, 13% White, 8% Asian, 3% multiracial. That is noticeably more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 21%.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Staff filings list 20 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 23.4:1 students per teacher. That figure is higher than the state norm's 15.4:1 average. About 78% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is higher than Jefferson County's rate of about 61%.

After controlling for student poverty, On a poverty-adjusted basis, Rutherford Elementary sits in the bottom 10% statewide. Predicted proficiency from the FRL regression is roughly 36.2%; actual is 10.9%, a gap of -25.3 points.

Zooming out to the county, community-level numbers for Jefferson County indicate 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), Rutherford Elementary is one campus in the mix.

Frederick Law Olmsted Academy South is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.5 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Rutherford Elementary. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Rutherford Elementary at 8th of 9; the average score across the group is 17.8%.

Geographically, the school is in a city-core area.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Rutherford Elementary has changed only slightly, going from 479 students in 2018 to 476 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share decreased from 28% to 13%. Class-load math has widened: from 12.7:1 in 2018 to 23.4:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, recent activity here tends to focus on science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.