Summary:
Elementary schools in Tampa's zip code 33609 serve students from kindergarten through fifth grade (with one school extending to eighth grade) and are part of the Hillsborough school district, which is ranked 45th out of 70 districts in Florida.
The standout school in this area is Mitchell Elementary School, a high-performing public school with a 4-star rating for the 2025-2026 school year and a history of excellence, including a 5-star rating the previous year. Mitchell ranks in the top 18% of all Florida elementary schools (398 out of 2240) and significantly outperforms both district and state averages in ELA and math proficiency, with rates of 73.7% and 78.0% respectively. In stark contrast, Bridgeprep Academy Of Tampa, a charter school serving grades K-8, has a 0-star rating and ranks in the bottom 4% of the state (2159 out of 2240), with proficiency rates roughly half of Mitchell's. The performance gap between these two schools is the most defining characteristic of this data set.
Key metrics reveal critical differences. Mitchell has a low chronic absenteeism rate of 11.9%, less than half the district average of 31.3%, while Bridgeprep's rate is a critically high 49.5%. Bridgeprep also has a very high student-to-teacher ratio of 31:1, nearly double Mitchell's 16.1:1, and spends $1,530 more per student ($11,816 vs. $10,286) despite achieving far lower results. Interestingly, Bridgeprep has a lower percentage of students receiving free/reduced lunch (11.29%) compared to Mitchell (21.78%), suggesting its challenges are systemic rather than purely socioeconomic. While Mitchell has shown a slight downward trend in its state ranking over three years, it remains a strong school, whereas Bridgeprep's performance is unstable and concerning.
Thank you for your feedback!