Summary:
There are four elementary schools in zip code 32308, serving grades PK through 5 (with two extending to 8th grade) in the Leon district, and they present a stark contrast in academic performance and socioeconomic conditions.
The School Of Arts And Sciences On Thomasville is the standout for excellence, earning a 4-star rating and ranking in the 77th percentile statewide. It achieves exceptional proficiency, including 100% in Geometry, with the lowest student-to-teacher ratio (10.7:1) and only 9.76% of students receiving free/reduced lunch. In contrast, Renaissance Academy faces significant challenges, with a 1-star rating, a 14th percentile rank, a 56.3% chronic absenteeism rate, and 80.25% of students from low-income families. Despite having the highest per-student spending ($13,578), its academic proficiency is critically low. W T Moore Elementary School offers consistent, solid performance with a 3-star rating for three consecutive years, meeting or exceeding district averages in most subjects, and a moderate free/reduced lunch rate of 39.88%. Kate Sullivan Elementary School shows a downward trend, dropping from the 62nd to the 47th percentile, with 5th-grade math scores (52% proficient) significantly below district and state averages.
A key takeaway is the "money paradox": the highest-spending school (Renaissance Academy) has the lowest performance, while the lowest-spending school (The School Of Arts And Sciences) has the highest, indicating that socioeconomic stability and student engagement are more predictive of success than funding alone. Chronic absenteeism is a powerful leading indicator, with the two lowest-absenteeism schools (The School Of Arts and Sciences at 18.1% and W T Moore at 18.2%) being the top performers, while Renaissance Academy's 56.3% rate correlates with its struggles. This data highlights how factors like poverty and attendance profoundly shape educational outcomes within the same zip code.
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