Clifford O Taylor/Kirklane Elementary

Clifford O Taylor/Kirklane Elementary is a large, high-poverty school in Palm Springs, FL, serving 1,342 students in grades PK-5 as part of the Palm Beach district, and it has historically ranked in the bottom 20% of Florida elementary schools, currently holding a 1-star rating.

The most critical challenge at Clifford O Taylor/Kirklane is an extremely high chronic absenteeism rate of 32.0%, which is significantly higher than nearby top-performing schools like Meadow Park Elementary (16.5%) and Somerset Academy The Dr. Bernard Kimmel Campus (19.5%). This absenteeism directly correlates with low academic performance, as the school's proficiency rates in English Language Arts (42-44%) and Math (42-50%) are well below district and state averages. For example, Meadow Park Elementary, just 2.29 miles away, achieves 70-71% ELA and 68-72% Math proficiency, despite serving a similar demographic. A notable anomaly is the school's 94% proficiency rate in 6th-grade math, which is far above the district average of 65%, but this likely reflects a selective, advanced math cohort rather than the general student body.

Despite spending $14,820 per student—higher than the district average and schools like Pine Jog Elementary ($13,898) and Berkshire Elementary ($13,689) that outperform it—the school has not seen proportional academic gains. There is a slight upward trend from the 9th percentile to the 15th percentile in recent years, but the school remains in the bottom quintile. Science is a relative weakness, with 5th-grade proficiency at 47% compared to the district's 60%, while nearby Forest Hill Elementary excels at 78%. Addressing absenteeism appears to be the most impactful lever for improvement, as schools with lower absenteeism in the area consistently achieve higher academic rankings.