Eagle Lake Elementary School

Eagle Lake Elementary School in Eagle Lake, FL, is a mid-sized PK-5 school serving 644 students in a high-poverty community within the Polk district, where over 75% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

This school faces significant challenges that set it apart from nearby schools. Most critically, Eagle Lake has a chronic absenteeism rate of 46.5%—meaning nearly half of its students miss substantial school time. This is 15 points higher than the district average and more than triple the rate at the high-performing Frank E. Brigham Academy (13.5%). Academic proficiency is uniformly low across all subjects and grades, with 5th-grade math at just 20% proficiency compared to 51% districtwide and 62% statewide. The school ranks in the bottom 3% of Florida elementary schools, a steep decline from its 40th percentile ranking a decade ago. Interestingly, Pinewood Elementary School, located just 1.58 miles away and serving a similar demographic, performs significantly better—ranking in the 28th percentile with a 32.9% absenteeism rate and outperforming Eagle Lake in 12 of 14 recent test comparisons. This suggests that poverty alone does not explain Eagle Lake's struggles.

Despite spending $11,515 per student—higher than several better-performing nearby schools like Pinewood ($10,165) and Chain of Lakes Elementary ($10,953)—the school has not translated funding into improved outcomes. The data points to a vicious cycle: high absenteeism drives poor academic performance, which makes school less appealing, further increasing absenteeism. Breaking this cycle will require a focused effort on improving attendance as a first step toward academic recovery.