Summary:
The three elementary schools in zip code 32003—Thunderbolt Elementary School, Robert M. Paterson Elementary, and Fleming Island Elementary School—serve grades PK through 6 in the Fleming Island and Orange Park area of the Clay County district, which is ranked 17th out of 70 districts in Florida. All three schools are high-performing, consistently earning 4 or 5 stars, and significantly outperform both district and state averages in academic proficiency.
Robert M. Paterson Elementary is the standout school, ranking in the 97th percentile (65th out of 2,240 schools) with 88% overall proficiency and the lowest chronic absenteeism rate. Fleming Island Elementary School is a strong performer in the 92nd percentile, notable for having the highest per-student spending ($13,128) and the smallest class sizes (11.6:1), yet it does not achieve the highest test scores. Thunderbolt Elementary School is a solid school in the 88th percentile but shows the most volatility, dropping from a 5-star to a 4-star rating and having the highest chronic absenteeism rate (16.8%) and the highest percentage of students on free/reduced lunch (40.34%).
A key finding is that per-student spending does not directly correlate with performance, as Robert M. Paterson Elementary spends the least ($11,318) yet achieves the best results. Chronic absenteeism is strongly linked to academic outcomes, with all three schools far exceeding the district average of 26.7% and state average of 31.4%. A universal strength across all schools is 6th Grade Math, where proficiency rates range from 90% to 92%, about 30 points above the state average of 60%, indicating a highly effective math curriculum in the district.
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