Summary
Dreamers Academy is a public charter elementary school serving 440 students in grades K-4 in Sarasota, Florida, which is part of the Sarasota school district, ranked 11th out of 67 districts in the state with a 4-star rating. However, Dreamers Academy has faced several challenges, including high chronic absenteeism rates, lower-than-average test scores, and a high percentage of economically disadvantaged students.
Dreamers Academy's chronic absenteeism rates have ranged from 20.1% to 31.4% over the past few years, significantly higher than the district and state averages. Academically, the school's students perform below district and state averages on standardized tests across all grade levels and subjects, with only 34-47% of students proficient in ELA and 28-68% proficient in math, compared to 62-67% and 72-73% proficiency in the district, respectively. Additionally, Dreamers Academy has a high percentage of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 51.81% to 69.76%, indicating a high level of economic disadvantage among the student population.
Interestingly, the nearby schools in the Sarasota district generally outperform Dreamers Academy on test scores, with Phillippi Shores Elementary and Southside Elementary being particularly high-performing. These schools have stronger academic outcomes despite serving similar or higher percentages of economically disadvantaged students. Additionally, Dreamers Academy has a higher student-teacher ratio (12.6-14.6) compared to the nearby schools, which may contribute to the lower academic performance. The significant differences in per-student spending between Dreamers Academy ($11,233 to $12,794) and the higher-performing nearby schools ($22,303 for Wilkinson Elementary and $20,844 for Brentwood Elementary) suggest that funding may be a contributing factor to the academic challenges at Dreamers Academy.
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