Summary:
In zip code 32583, there is one middle school, Avalon Middle School, serving grades 6 through 8 in Milton, Florida, a community where over half of the students come from low-income households.
Avalon Middle School presents a mixed academic profile. It is a standout in advanced coursework, achieving near-perfect proficiency in Algebra 1 (99% in 2025-2026) and strong results in Civics (83%), significantly outperforming both the Santa Rosa district and state averages. However, the school struggles in foundational subjects, with 8th-grade Science proficiency at just 47% and 6th and 7th-grade Math proficiency at 55% and 45% respectively, all below district benchmarks. The school's state ranking has been volatile, jumping from the 49th percentile in 2023-2024 to the 61st percentile in 2024-2025, then dropping back to the 48th percentile in 2025-2026. A key concern is chronic absenteeism, which affects 23.5% of students—higher than the district average of 20.0%—and likely contributes to the school's challenges in core subjects.
With a student-teacher ratio of 18.7:1 and per-student spending of $8,803, the school's resources are a critical factor. The high absenteeism rate, combined with the fact that 55.47% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, suggests that addressing attendance could be the most impactful way to improve overall performance. While the school excels at preparing a select group of students for advanced math and civics, the general student body in 6th and 7th-grade math and 8th-grade science lags behind, creating a "Jekyll and Hyde" performance profile that parents should carefully consider.
Thank you for your feedback!