Highbanks Learning Center

Highbanks Learning Center in Deltona, FL, is a small alternative school serving just 51 students in grades K-12 within the Volusia school district, where over 76% of students come from low-income households.

The most critical issue at Highbanks is an extraordinarily high rate of chronic absenteeism—77.1% in the 2023-2024 school year, more than double the district average of 34.1% and nearly 2.5 times the state average. This means most students are missing so much school that it directly explains the school's consistently low academic proficiency, with only 6% of 8th graders proficient in Science and 10% of 9th graders proficient in English Language Arts. While the school has a very low student-teacher ratio of 3.9:1, which could allow for intensive instruction, this resource is not translating into academic success because students are not in class. There is a slight positive trend, as absenteeism has dropped from a peak of 91.6% in 2021-2022, suggesting recent interventions may be starting to help.

Compared to nearby alternative schools, Highbanks stands out for its challenges. Just 0.87 miles away, Legacy Scholars Academy has only 9.1% chronic absenteeism, while Volusia Online Learning-Flvs (Franchise) has 10.1% absenteeism and test scores that often meet district averages. In contrast, Journeys Academy in Seminole County, which serves a similarly high-poverty population (76.7%), also struggles with high absenteeism (73.4%) and low test scores. This comparison suggests Highbanks' difficulties are closely tied to serving a high-needs population, and any meaningful improvement must first solve the attendance crisis before academic gains can be expected.