The City of Pikeville invests in education at all age levels to ensure that industries coming into the area have a well educated workforce. Our educational institutions and programs can be tailored to fit any industrial, business, or technical skills to support any industry’s needs.

Education is a top priority for Pikeville and it is exhibited all over the community. The hard work and dedication of the city and its regional and State leaders, we have become a regional education hub for Eastern Kentucky. With the University of Pikeville, Big Sandy Community & Technical College, and Pikeville Independent Schools we are improving our community and our future by educating both the current workforce and the younger generations.

We are also proud of our younger students who attend the Pikeville Independent School System. The Pikeville Independent Schools have been rated one of the top ten schools by greatschools.org as well as ranked the fourth best school district in Kentucky. The school district is in the 98th percentile and ranked Distinguished for our school testing this year. We are teaching, at a young age, the importance of education and the results speak for themselves. We have very intelligent, future generations being cultivated in Pikeville.

Big Sandy Community & Technical College is another higher learning facility located in Pikeville. They offer more than 25 academic and technical programs with an emphasis on innovation of learning. They have a Go2Work program that allows for accelerated training that develops into high demand careers in two years or less. With more than 3,000 enrolled in their Workforce Solutions program, skilled workers are being prepped for the labor force in customizable programs based around employers’ needs.

(KYCO)An exciting new endeavor for both the university and the city is the conception and construction of the College of Optometry. It is the first College of Optometry in Kentucky and only 22nd in the nation. This is just another example of the Pikeville area’s forward thinking. A new 103,000 sq. ft. building with a state-of-the-art learning and teaching space has completed construction and is one of two schools in the nation that teaches laser as a scope of practice. Kentucky is one of three states that permit optometrists to perform laser surgery.