Seminole Springs Elementary School

Seminole Springs Elementary School in Eustis, FL, is a public school serving 469 students from Pre-K through 5th grade within the Lake district, where just over half of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

This school has historically been a solid performer, especially in 5th grade science, where it consistently outperformed both district and state averages. However, recent data shows a sharp decline, with science proficiency dropping below the district average for the first time. The most pressing concern is a severe and worsening chronic absenteeism problem, which has skyrocketed to 40.1%—far higher than the state average and a key factor in the school's rapid drop from a 3-star to a 1-star ranking. While the school maintains a favorable student-teacher ratio of 14.2:1 and spends slightly above the district average per student, these resources are not translating into top-tier results, likely due to the attendance crisis. Interestingly, math performance reveals a "tale of two subjects": 3rd and 4th graders perform relatively well, but 5th graders experience a dramatic drop-off, suggesting a potential issue with the 5th-grade math curriculum or instruction.

For context, nearby Sorrento Elementary, just 3.24 miles away, serves a similar demographic but ranks significantly higher (67th percentile) with lower chronic absenteeism and stronger test scores across nearly every subject. This shows that the challenges facing Seminole Springs are not universal to the area. In stark contrast, Round Lake Charter School, only 5.5 miles away, is a top-performing 5-star school with a drastically lower chronic absenteeism rate of 11.6%, highlighting the powerful impact of school culture and attendance on academic success. For parents, the single most important factor to watch at Seminole Springs is whether the school can implement aggressive interventions to improve student attendance, as this appears to be the key to reversing its current trajectory.