McDonald Elementary School

McDonald Elementary School in Seffner, FL, is a PK-5 public school serving 526 students within the Hillsborough School District, where nearly 74% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school currently ranks in the 12th percentile statewide (1 star), a significant decline from the previous year, and faces a critical challenge with an extraordinarily high chronic absenteeism rate of 49.1%—far exceeding the district and state averages of about 31%.

This absenteeism crisis is the most defining issue at McDonald, and it directly impacts academic progress. For comparison, nearby Seffner Elementary has a 33.2% absenteeism rate and performs slightly better, while the high-performing Dr. Kiran C. Patel Elementary has only 18.4% absenteeism. Even within Seffner, Lopez Elementary serves a similar student population but has a lower absenteeism rate (41.8%) and consistently outperforms McDonald in academics. The data strongly suggests that getting students to class is the school's primary hurdle, as high poverty drives high absenteeism, which in turn cripples learning outcomes.

Despite these challenges, there is a bright spot in 5th Grade Math, where proficiency has climbed from 35% to 58% over recent years, even outperforming district and state averages in 2024-2025. However, this success is not replicated in other subjects, such as 3rd Grade ELA, which remains critically low at 31%. McDonald spends $13,592 per student—significantly more than nearby schools like Limona Elementary ($11,736) and Dr. Kiran C. Patel Elementary ($8,971)—yet the high spending has not translated into broad academic gains. The school's ranking history shows volatility, with fragile gains easily lost, pointing to a need for systemic, long-term interventions to address absenteeism and stabilize performance.