Summary:
In zip code 32038, there is one elementary school, Fort White Elementary School, serving grades PK through 5 with 644 students in the Fort White area of Columbia County.
Fort White Elementary School shows a mixed performance profile. The school's strongest area is 3rd Grade Math, where 71% of students are proficient, outperforming both the district (68%) and state (66%) averages. However, this strength does not carry through to other grades and subjects. Average math proficiency across all grades is 57%, and average English Language Arts proficiency is 51%, both below state averages. The school's state ranking percentile has declined for three consecutive years, from the 38th percentile to the 28th percentile, indicating a concerning downward trend. A significant challenge is chronic absenteeism, with 36.6% of students chronically absent, which is higher than the state average of 31.4% and likely impacts overall academic performance.
Economically, 63.04% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, reflecting a high level of economic disadvantage. Per-student spending is $9,796, and the student-teacher ratio is 17.4:1. The school's performance in 3rd Grade Math demonstrates that high achievement is possible despite economic challenges, suggesting that successful strategies in that grade could be replicated to improve outcomes in other areas. The combination of declining state rankings, high absenteeism, and uneven test scores makes Fort White Elementary School a school with clear areas for growth, particularly in upper-grade math, science, and addressing chronic absenteeism.
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