Summary:
The city of Leesburg, Florida, is served by seven public schools within the Lake district, which holds a 3-star rating, and these schools face significant challenges with high poverty rates and a city-wide chronic absenteeism crisis that averages 47.2%.
The standout performer in Leesburg is Treadway Elementary School, which consistently exceeds state averages in math and English Language Arts despite a high Free/Reduced Lunch (FRL) rate of 57.18%. In stark contrast, Leesburg Elementary School is the lowest-performing school, ranking in the bottom 10% of Florida elementary schools for three consecutive years with a 0-star rating, even though it has the second-highest per-student spending in the city. Leesburg High School presents a mixed picture with a graduation rate close to the state average, but its academic performance is a major concern, with proficiency rates in Algebra 1 (23%) and Geometry (30%) being less than half of state averages, and it has the highest chronic absenteeism rate in the city at 59.1%.
A key finding is that higher spending does not guarantee better results, as the two highest-spending schools, Beverly Shores Elementary School and Leesburg Elementary, are among the lowest-performing. The middle schools, Carver Middle School and Oak Park Middle School, show a "two-tiered" system where students in advanced math courses achieve exceptionally high scores, while the majority struggle with standard math proficiency. Rimes Early Learning & Literacy Center is a unique asset as the only Pre-K through 2nd grade school, with the lowest student-teacher ratio (10.5:1) and the highest FRL rate, making its role in early intervention critical for the district's future.
Thank you for your feedback!