Browning-Pearce Elementary School

Browning-Pearce Elementary School in San Mateo, FL, serves 679 students in grades K-6 and is part of the Putnam County School District, a district ranked 62nd out of 70 in Florida.

The most pressing challenge at Browning-Pearce is a chronic absenteeism rate of 51.9%, which is dramatically higher than the state average of 31.4% and nearly double the rate at nearby high-performing schools like The Children's Reading Center (26.7%) and Belle Terre Elementary School (27.2%). This attendance crisis is likely the primary driver of the school's low academic performance, which has consistently ranked in the bottom 20-30% of Florida elementary schools. Interestingly, the school spends $11,119 per student, which is higher than The Children's Reading Center ($10,021) and comparable to Belle Terre ($11,058), showing that funding alone is not the issue. A bright spot is the school's 6th-grade performance, where students often match or exceed state averages in English Language Arts and Math, a stark contrast to the lower grades (3rd-5th) where scores fall significantly below state averages.

This pattern suggests that while the school struggles to build foundational skills in early grades, it may have a particularly effective program for its upper-grade students. The challenges at Browning-Pearce are systemic to the Putnam County district, as even the lowest-performing school in the neighboring St. Johns County district outperforms it in most metrics. However, the success of The Children's Reading Center, a 4-star school just 7.67 miles away, proves that high performance is achievable in the same area, highlighting the critical role of school-level leadership and culture. For parents, the most urgent priority for improvement at Browning-Pearce must be a comprehensive strategy to boost student attendance.