Ucp Bailes Community Academy

Ucp Bailes Community Academy is a K-8 public school in Orlando, FL, serving 469 students within the Orange County school district, and it is part of the UCP network, which focuses on inclusive education for students with and without disabilities. The school is currently ranked in the 2nd percentile statewide (0 stars) for the 2025-2026 school year, a steep decline from its peak in the 35th percentile just four years ago, and it faces severe academic challenges with proficiency rates in math, ELA, and science well below district and state averages.

The most critical issue at Ucp Bailes is its catastrophic chronic absenteeism rate of 49.1% in the 2023-2024 school year, which is nearly 1.5 times higher than the Orange County district average and far above nearby high-performing schools like Rainbow Elementary School (11.8%) and Carillon Elementary School (12.8%) in the Seminole County district. While the school spends $14,669 per student—higher than many nearby schools, including Evans Elementary School ($10,106)—this funding has not translated into academic success, as the school ranks in the bottom 2% of the state compared to Seminole County schools like Stenstrom Elementary School (79th percentile) and Evans Elementary School (91st percentile).

Despite the overall struggles, there are a few bright spots: 7th Grade ELA scored 65% proficient in 2025-2026, above both the district and state averages, and Civics EOC scores reached 70%, though these are isolated successes that may reflect small class sizes or effective teachers rather than systemic improvement. The school’s free/reduced lunch rate (38.17%) is lower than many nearby Orange County schools like Lawton Chiles Elementary (65.21%), indicating that academic challenges are heavily influenced by the school’s specialized mission to serve students with disabilities. Without a dramatic intervention to address the 49.1% chronic absenteeism rate, Ucp Bailes risks remaining one of the lowest-performing schools in the state.