Summerfield Elementary School

Summerfield Elementary School in Riverview, FL, serves 901 students in grades PK-5 and is part of the Hillsborough school district, a mid-sized school in a diverse area where over half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

The most pressing challenge at Summerfield is a persistent and severe chronic absenteeism crisis. In the 2023-2024 school year, 37.2% of students were chronically absent—nearly three times higher than nearby high-performing schools like Stowers Elementary (12.1%) and Valrico Lake Advantage Academy (15.4%). This issue has been a systemic problem for years, with rates peaking at 41% in 2021-2022. The high absenteeism likely drives the school's consistently low academic performance, particularly in math. For example, only 48% of 4th graders were proficient in math in 2025-2026, compared to 61% districtwide and 65% statewide. This is a 13-point gap with the district and a 17-point gap with the state, a pattern of underperformance not seen in higher-performing nearby schools.

Despite these struggles, there are some bright spots. In 2022-2023, 5th-grade science scores reached 59%, significantly outperforming the district (47%) and state (51%). More recently, 3rd-grade math proficiency hit 62% in 2025-2026, above the district average of 60%. The school also spends more per student ($11,046) than several higher-performing neighbors, suggesting funding isn't the core issue. Summerfield is part of a cluster of lower-performing schools in the area, including Belmont Elementary and Summerfield Crossings Elementary, which stand in stark contrast to the high-performing schools just a few miles away. The most impactful intervention would likely be a community-wide effort to address the root causes of chronic absenteeism.