Summary
Woodmont Charter School is a K-8 school in Temple Terrace, FL, serving 632 students within the Hillsborough district, but it is currently facing a severe crisis driven by an extraordinarily high rate of chronic absenteeism. In the 2023-2024 school year, 63.7% of students were chronically absent—more than double the district and state averages, and the highest rate among all nearby schools. This is a sharp increase from 21.8% just four years earlier, and it directly correlates with the school's low academic performance in core subjects like English Language Arts and Math, where proficiency rates hover around 20-30%, far below district and state averages.
Despite these challenges, Woodmont shows a striking "two-tiered" performance. Students in advanced courses, such as Algebra 1 and Biology 1 End-of-Course exams, achieve high proficiency rates of 91% and 85%, respectively—well above district and state averages. This suggests that a small, consistently attending group of students excels, while the majority struggle due to missed instruction. Additionally, middle school math scores (7th and 8th grade) are much closer to state averages, indicating a potential strength in that area. The school's per-student spending of $8,734 is lower than nearby peers like Riverhills Elementary Magnet ($15,381), but similar to high-performing Dr. Kiran C. Patel Elementary ($8,971), showing that funding alone isn't the issue.
The contrast with nearby schools is stark. Riverhills Elementary Magnet, just 1.68 miles away, has a 3-star rating, a 14.5% chronic absenteeism rate, and proficiency rates in the 60-70% range. Pizzo K-8 School, less than a mile away, also performs significantly better. This proximity highlights that Woodmont's challenges are specific to its school culture and family engagement, not the neighborhood. The school's relatively low poverty rate (21.84% free/reduced lunch in 2024-2025) makes its poor performance even more concerning, emphasizing that the primary solution lies in improving attendance and building a stronger school community.
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