Best Public Schools in Alachua, FL

The city of Alachua, Florida, is served by six schools within the Alachua County school district, which ranks in the 29th percentile statewide, and includes three elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school. The most striking feature of this educational landscape is the performance gap between the traditional public schools and the two charter schools, Alachua Learning Academy Elementary and Alachua Learning Academy Middle, which are the standout performers. The middle school ranks in the 97th percentile statewide, while the elementary school ranks in the 90th percentile, both earning 5-star ratings, and they achieve these results with the lowest per-student spending in the city. In contrast, the traditional schools, including Alachua Elementary School (22nd percentile) and A. L. Mebane Middle School (32nd percentile), struggle significantly, with test scores often falling below district and state averages.

Key metrics highlight a paradox where higher spending does not correlate with better outcomes. Alachua Elementary School has the highest per-student spending ($16,145) and the highest free/reduced lunch rate (60.37%), yet it is the lowest-ranked school. Meanwhile, Alachua Learning Academy Middle spends just $6,391 per student and has a much lower free/reduced lunch rate (34.92%). Chronic absenteeism is a major challenge for traditional schools, with Santa Fe High School having the highest rate at 35.9%, while Alachua Learning Academy Elementary has the lowest at 11.5%. Santa Fe High School, the only high school, presents a mixed picture with a graduation rate above the district average but below the state average, and it struggles with Algebra 1 proficiency (40% vs. 60% statewide).

The most extreme contrast is between the two middle schools: Alachua Learning Academy Middle (97th percentile) and A. L. Mebane Middle School (32nd percentile). In 8th Grade Math, the Learning Academy achieved 95% proficiency, while A.L. Mebane had only 19%. This disparity, along with the overall performance split, suggests that the Alachua Learning Academy charter schools operate with a fundamentally different and highly effective model. For parents, this data underscores a clear "choice" dynamic in the city, where the charter schools dramatically outperform their traditional counterparts across nearly every metric, from test scores and attendance to spending efficiency.