Middle Schools in Sarasota

There are 11 middle schools in the highly-rated Sarasota district, serving grades 6-8 across a diverse range of communities, from large comprehensive schools to specialized academies.

The standout academic leader is Student Leadership Academy, the only school to earn a 5-star rating and ranking in the top 7% of Florida middle schools, with near-perfect math scores. Sarasota Middle School is a powerhouse of efficiency, achieving a 4-star rating with the largest student body (1,290) and the lowest chronic absenteeism rate (10.2%). The most improved school is Sky Academy Venice, which jumped 13 percentile points in a single year to a 3-star rating. In contrast, Booker Middle School faces the greatest challenges, with the highest poverty rate (73.24% free/reduced lunch) and highest per-student spending ($18,866), yet it ranks in the bottom third of the district. The three highest-performing schools—Student Leadership Academy, Sarasota School Of Arts/Sciences, and Sky Academy Englewood—are all magnet or choice schools with the lowest poverty rates, suggesting a self-selecting student body.

A critical finding is the "8th Grade Math Cliff," where math proficiency drops sharply from 7th to 8th grade at nearly every school—for example, at Sarasota Middle School, it falls from 80% to 36%. Another key insight is the "Money Doesn't Buy Success" paradox: schools with the highest spending, like Booker Middle and Brookside Middle School, rank in the bottom half, while the lowest-spending schools are top performers. Finally, the two "Sky" academies show different outcomes: Sky Academy Englewood is a high-performing 4-star school, while Sky Academy Venice is a mid-performing 3-star school, highlighting how location and demographics influence results even within the same school model.