Kissimmee Elementary School

Kissimmee Elementary School is a public school in Kissimmee, FL, serving 740 students from Pre-K through 5th grade within the Osceola County School District, a district ranked in the bottom 20% of Florida. The school currently holds a 1-star rating and has experienced a significant decline over the past decade, dropping from the 43rd percentile in 2015-2016 to the 12th percentile statewide today. One of the most notable features is that just over half of its students (51.62%) qualify for free or reduced lunch, which is a lower rate of economic disadvantage compared to nearby district peers like Pleasant Hill Elementary School (65.34%) and Thacker Avenue Elementary For International Studies (63.52%).

Despite this apparent socioeconomic advantage, the school's academic performance is inconsistent and generally low. A bright spot is 5th-grade math, where 46% of students are proficient—outperforming the district average (49%) and a significant improvement from the previous year's 27%. However, other subjects lag, with 4th-grade English Language Arts at just 36% proficiency. This creates a puzzling contrast with Pleasant Hill Elementary, which serves a more economically disadvantaged population yet achieves higher scores in nearly every subject, such as 55% proficiency in 4th-grade ELA. The school also has a better student-teacher ratio (15.2:1) than many peers, including Thacker Avenue (19.4:1), but this has not translated into stronger results.

The most critical issue facing Kissimmee Elementary is chronic absenteeism, which has consistently exceeded district and state averages. In 2022-2023, nearly 40% of students were chronically absent, and while it has improved to 34.1%, this remains alarmingly high and is a primary driver of low academic performance. The school also spends less per student ($11,779) than nearby schools with higher poverty rates, such as Central Avenue Elementary School ($13,351). For parents, the key takeaway is that while the school has some positive metrics like smaller class sizes, it faces deep-rooted challenges with attendance and inconsistent instruction that overshadow its potential, especially when compared to higher-performing schools in the neighboring Orange County district, like West Creek Elementary (92nd percentile).