Chaffee Trail Elementary

Chaffee Trail Elementary is a mid-sized school in western Jacksonville, FL, serving 884 students in grades PK through 5 as part of the Duval County Public School District.

Chaffee Trail has historically been a solidly average school, but it has experienced a notable decline in recent years, dropping from a 3-star to a 2-star rating. The school's most critical challenge is a severe and rising chronic absenteeism rate, which has climbed to 43.1%—far above the state average of 31.4%. This absenteeism crisis is the primary driver of the school's recent drop in rankings. On a positive note, Chaffee Trail has a lower percentage of economically disadvantaged students (43.4% free/reduced lunch) than most of its neighbors, and it performs relatively well in Math, with proficiency rates close to the state average. However, its English Language Arts scores lag behind, particularly in upper elementary grades. The school remains a stronger option than many nearby schools, such as Westview K-8 (7th percentile) and Duval Charter School At Westside (4th percentile), but it is losing ground to its closest peer, Whitehouse Elementary School, which has maintained a 3-star rating despite having higher poverty and absenteeism rates.

For parents, the key takeaway is that Chaffee Trail has the potential to be a much stronger school, but its progress is being held back by a serious attendance problem. The school's per-student spending is in the middle of the pack for the area, suggesting that funding is not the main issue. Instead, the school's future success will depend on its ability to improve student attendance and replicate the strong math instruction seen in early grades across all subjects and grade levels. If the school can address its absenteeism crisis, it could reverse its recent decline and return to its former standing as a solid, middle-of-the-pack option in the area.