Summary:
Zip code 33604 in Tampa, Florida, is home to five schools within the Hillsborough school district, serving students from Pre-K through 12th grade, with a predominantly low-income population and significant academic challenges.
Among the elementary and K-8 schools, Seminole Heights Elementary School stands out as the highest-performing traditional school, earning a 2-star rating and ranking in the 31st percentile statewide. It achieves this with the lowest chronic absenteeism rate (23.5%) and the lowest percentage of students on free/reduced lunch (57.33%) in the area. In contrast, Dr. Carter G. Woodson K-8 School and Sulphur Springs K-8 School rank in the bottom 2nd and 8th percentiles, respectively, with chronic absenteeism rates exceeding 50%. However, both K-8 schools show an intriguing anomaly: their Algebra 1 End-of-Course exam scores are exceptionally high (81% and 100% proficient), likely reflecting a small, select group of advanced students rather than overall performance. Oak Grove Elementary School falls in the middle, ranking in the 10th percentile with a 55.6% absenteeism rate.
The North Tampa Success Center is a stark outlier, serving only 48 highly at-risk high school students. It has the highest free/reduced lunch rate (93.75%), a staggering 88.7% chronic absenteeism rate, and a 0% graduation rate. Despite spending $88,069 per student—over seven times the cost of nearby elementary schools—and maintaining a low student-teacher ratio of 6.4:1, academic outcomes remain critically low. This underscores that while resources are essential, they alone cannot overcome foundational issues like attendance and engagement. Overall, the data strongly suggests that improving attendance could be the most impactful intervention for this community, as Seminole Heights Elementary School demonstrates that lower absenteeism correlates with better academic results.
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