Pasco Elementary School

Pasco Elementary School is a public elementary school located in Dade City, Florida, serving grades PK-5 with a total enrollment of 638 students. The school is part of the Pasco District, which is ranked 40 out of 67 districts in Florida and is rated 2 stars out of 5 by SchoolDigger. Despite the school's relatively high per-student spending, Pasco Elementary has consistently ranked in the bottom quartile of Florida elementary schools over the past several years.

Pasco Elementary School faces significant challenges, including high chronic absenteeism rates, well below average test scores, and a very high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch. The school's chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 28.0% to 37.6%, are significantly higher than the state average and the rates of nearby schools like Wesley Chapel Elementary (31.4%) and Woodland Elementary (31.4%). Academically, Pasco Elementary's proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Math are 38-41% and 35-39%, respectively, compared to the state averages of 56-57% and 57-63%.

While Pasco Elementary School struggles with low academic performance, some of the nearby schools, such as Academy at the Farm and Wesley Chapel Elementary, perform significantly better on these metrics. This suggests that there may be opportunities to learn from the practices and strategies employed at the higher-performing schools. Additionally, the school's relatively high per-student spending raises questions about the effective use of resources and the need to explore other factors, such as teacher quality, instructional practices, and school leadership, that may be contributing to the school's underperformance.