About Us
The Nelson County School District consists of nine schools located on campuses scattered throughout the county. More than 4,700 students are enrolled in the district.
A new alternative school, Horizons Academy, and a new central office were both opened in January 2008. The Boston School, which opened in January 2007, replaced an earlier structure. The 2004-2005 school year saw the opening of two new school buildings. The populations of Chaplin Elementary and Eli H. Brown, Jr. Elementary were combined to form Bloomfield Elementary School, and Old Kentucky Home Middle School moved to a new building. Foster Heights Elementary is currently under renovation and a new wing is being added. Completion is scheduled for the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year. Construction will soon begin on Thomas Nelson High School, which will be the district’s second high school. The projected opening date is 2012.
The system offers services to three-year-old students with disabilities and four-year-old students who qualify for the federal free-lunch program or who have disabilities. All-day kindergarten is available to everyone, as are before- and after-school childcare programs.
Each of the district's elementary schools offers a variation of Kentucky's ungraded primary program. Students of middle school age have a range of classes available to them. Nelson County High School offers a comprehensive program and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. It is supported by the Nelson County Area Technology Center.
The district employs more than 200 support personnel and more than 300 certified staff members, a majority of whom have a master's degree or higher.
The school district's well-defined school-to-work program offers job exploration opportunities in the elementary and middle schools and on-the-job training in the high school. The high school tech prep program has articulation agreements with several area colleges.
Programs for at-risk students include Reading Recovery, geared to six-year-olds; Extended School Services, grade four and above tutoring; K-12 counseling; exceptional child education with collaboration; Family Resource and Youth Services Centers; and drug and alcohol abuse prevention programs.
Since 1998, the Nelson County School System has operated on an alternative calendar. The school year is broken into four quarters separated by intersessions and vacations. The intersession is devoted to remediation and optional enrichment classes. The remaining time is designated as a vacation. The district school board voted to move to this calendar following a study of national and state data indicating benefits to student learning.
Realizing the importance of a well-rounded individual, all district schools offer a range of co-curricular and athletic programs. Many clubs and academic competitions are also available.
All schools in the district serve breakfast and lunch.
