Summary:
Zip code 32024 in Lake City, Florida, is home to four schools within the Columbia School District, including three traditional elementary schools (PK-5) and one alternative school (PK-12), serving a total of 2,556 students in a community where the district ranks 36th out of 70 in the state.
The most striking finding is that Belmont Academy, the alternative school, is the academic powerhouse of the area, dramatically outperforming both district and state averages with test scores 20-30 percentage points higher and a 100% graduation rate. In contrast, the traditional elementary schools show a clear hierarchy: Westside Elementary School is the consistent top performer, maintaining a 4-star rating for three consecutive years with solid proficiency rates and lower spending ($9,752 per student). Pinemount Elementary School earns a 3-star rating despite having the highest spending ($11,172 per student) and the highest rate of economic disadvantage (59.38% free/reduced lunch). Columbia City Elementary School is a school of concern, having dropped from a 4-star to a 2-star rating in one year before partially recovering to a 3-star rating, with alarmingly low 2024-2025 test scores like 41% in 5th-grade Science.
Key takeaways for parents include the inverse relationship between spending and performance—higher spending at Pinemount and Columbia City likely reflects greater student needs rather than driving higher scores. All four schools have chronic absenteeism rates below the district average of 37.8%, ranging from 23.3% to 27.7%, which is a positive sign for the community. The data also highlights how socioeconomic factors strongly influence school performance, as Westside Elementary, with a lower free/reduced lunch rate (43.88%), consistently outperforms Pinemount, which has a higher rate (59.38%) despite similar enrollment sizes. Overall, Belmont Academy offers exceptional academic results for an alternative setting, while Westside Elementary is the most reliable traditional choice in this zip code.
Thank you for your feedback!