Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 32641

In zip code 32641 (Gainesville, FL), there are three elementary schools serving grades PK-5: Joseph Williams Elementary School, Caring & Sharing Learning School, and Lake Forest Elementary School, all part of the Alachua school district.

The standout school in this area is Caring & Sharing Learning School, which ranks in the 70th percentile statewide and has earned a 4-star rating. In contrast, both Joseph Williams Elementary School and Lake Forest Elementary School rank in the bottom 1% of all Florida elementary schools. A striking finding is the "spending vs. results" paradox: Lake Forest Elementary School spends $18,656 per student—more than double the $8,582 spent at Caring & Sharing Learning School—yet Lake Forest is one of the lowest-performing schools in the state. Additionally, chronic absenteeism is a major issue at the two low-performing schools, with Lake Forest Elementary School at 46.4% and Joseph Williams Elementary School at 36.7%, while Caring & Sharing Learning School has a much lower rate of 23.9%.

Another interesting takeaway is that the highest-performing school, Caring & Sharing Learning School, has the largest student-teacher ratio at 20.5:1, while the two lowest-performing schools have smaller ratios (14.1:1 and 14.7:1). This suggests that factors like teacher quality and school culture are more impactful than class size in this area. Caring & Sharing Learning School is a beacon of hope, with 5th-grade math proficiency at 83%—nearly four times higher than Lake Forest Elementary School (23%) and well above the state average (62%). This school proves that high-poverty schools in this zip code can achieve excellent results, making it a critical case study for the district.