Summary:
In zip code 33713, there is one elementary school, Mount Vernon Elementary School, serving grades PK through 5 in St. Petersburg, Florida, as part of the Pinellas County school district.
Mount Vernon Elementary School is a school of contrasts with notable strengths and challenges. The most impressive highlight is its 5th grade cohort, which achieved 71% proficiency in English Language Arts, outperforming both the district and state averages. However, the school struggles significantly in mathematics, with proficiency rates across all grades falling 10-20 percentage points below the district average. This is particularly concerning given the school's high per-student spending of $18,164 and a low student-teacher ratio of 11.4:1, which suggests smaller class sizes. The school serves a high-poverty population, with 66.07% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, and faces a critical chronic absenteeism rate of 34.9%, which is higher than both the district and state averages.
The school's ranking history shows instability, dropping from a 3-star, 54th percentile ranking in 2023-2024 to a 2-star, 38th percentile ranking the following year, with only a slight recovery to the 39th percentile in 2025-2026. The data suggests that while the school has clear strengths in 5th grade and benefits from significant resources, its path to improvement likely requires a targeted focus on reducing chronic absenteeism and overhauling math instruction, particularly in the early grades. The high spending does not appear to be translating into strong math outcomes, raising questions about resource allocation and instructional effectiveness.
Thank you for your feedback!