Summary:
There are three elementary schools serving grades PK-8 in zip code 32407 (Panama City Beach, FL), all part of the Bay County School District, which ranks in the 60th percentile statewide.
Breakfast Point Academy is the clear academic leader, achieving perfect 100% proficiency in Geometry and 95% in Algebra 1, and outperforming district and state averages in every subject. It also has the lowest student-teacher ratio (15.5:1) and the lowest spending per student ($10,215), suggesting efficient resource use. Hutchison Beach Elementary School is a consistent performer with strong early-grade scores (65% ELA and 71% Math in 3rd grade) and a notable upward trajectory in state ranking, jumping from the 57th to the 71st percentile before settling at the 64th. A. Gary Walsingham Academy is the lowest-performing school, with a state ranking that dropped from the 57th to the 33rd percentile, scoring below district and state averages in six of seven tested categories despite spending the most per student ($11,607).
A key takeaway is that spending does not equal success: Walsingham spends the most but achieves the least, while Breakfast Point spends the least and achieves the most. Additionally, Breakfast Point’s inclusion of grades 6-8 gives it a "middle school advantage," with exceptional scores like 78% in 8th-grade ELA and 75% in 7th-grade Math. Interestingly, chronic absenteeism is an inverse indicator here: Walsingham has the lowest absenteeism (26.1%) but the lowest performance, while Hutchison Beach has the highest absenteeism (36.2%) but solid middle-tier results. This suggests factors like instructional quality and school culture are more influential than attendance rates alone in this area.
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