Summary:
The Monroe County school district in Florida serves 21 public schools, including 12 elementary and 9 high schools, with no standalone middle schools, and is ranked 19th out of 70 districts statewide, earning a 4-star rating for overall strong performance.
Standout schools in the district include Plantation Key School, a top elementary performer with exceptional test scores like 100% 8th-grade math proficiency, and Coral Shores High School, the leading traditional high school with a 96.7% graduation rate. The College Of The Florida Keys Academy earned a rare 5-star rating with elite test scores (95% Biology proficiency) but a lower 81.8% graduation rate. Big Pine Academy stands out for efficiency, achieving a 5-star rating and 91st percentile rank with the lowest per-student spending ($13,078). Charter schools like Somerset Island Prep have the lowest chronic absenteeism rate (9.7%), far below the district average of 21.8%.
Key metrics reveal a district with a 91.9% graduation rate and wide disparities: chronic absenteeism ranges from 0% at Monroe Virtual Franchise to 82.4% at Keys Center, and per-student spending varies from $13,078 to $52,307. A notable finding is the "middle school slump" in PK-8 schools like Horace O'Bryant School, where 3rd-grade math proficiency of 68% drops to 21% by 8th grade. While smaller schools like Big Pine Academy excel, alternative programs for at-risk students face crisis-level absenteeism, indicating the district's greatest challenge is student engagement rather than academic instruction in its best schools.
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