Summary:
Zip code 33702 in St. Petersburg, Florida, is home to three elementary schools—Shore Acres Elementary School, Sawgrass Lake Elementary School, and Lynch Elementary School—serving grades PK-5 within the Pinellas school district.
Shore Acres Elementary School is the standout performer in this area, ranking in the top 13% of Florida elementary schools with a 4-star rating. It boasts the highest test scores, with 84% of 3rd graders proficient in English Language Arts and 87% in Math, far exceeding district and state averages. This school also has the lowest chronic absenteeism rate (20.3%) and the lowest percentage of students receiving free/reduced lunch (30.29%). In contrast, Lynch Elementary School is the most challenged, with a 2-star rating, the highest poverty rate (71.78% free/reduced lunch), and the lowest state ranking. Sawgrass Lake Elementary School falls in the middle with a 3-star rating and moderate performance across most metrics.
A key finding is that higher spending does not guarantee better results. Sawgrass Lake Elementary School spends the most per student ($15,198) and has the smallest class sizes (12.4:1 student-teacher ratio), yet it has the lowest academic performance among the three. Meanwhile, Shore Acres Elementary School spends the least ($11,829) and has larger classes (15.8:1) but achieves the best outcomes. Chronic absenteeism is a major challenge at Sawgrass Lake (35.4%) and Lynch (33.5%), both well above the district average of 30.6%. On a positive note, all three schools perform relatively well in 5th grade science, scoring at or above the state average of 60%, and Lynch Elementary showed a notable 15-point improvement in 5th grade math proficiency from the previous year.
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