Summary:
This analysis examines the two middle schools serving zip code 33810 in Lakeland, Florida: Sleepy Hill Middle School and Kathleen Middle School, both part of the Polk County school district, which ranks in the 13th percentile statewide.
While neither school is a high-performer relative to the state, Kathleen Middle School emerges as the slightly stronger option in this zip code. It outperforms Sleepy Hill Middle School in 7 out of 10 tested subjects, including notable gaps in 7th Grade ELA (43% vs. 38% proficient) and 8th Grade Science (29% vs. 23% proficient). Kathleen also has a higher state percentile rank (10th vs. 9th) and a lower chronic absenteeism rate (47.5% vs. 50.4%). However, Sleepy Hill Middle School stands out in advanced math, with a higher Algebra 1 proficiency rate (79% vs. 69%), and spends $440 less per student ($10,191 vs. $10,631) while achieving comparable results in some subjects.
The most alarming statistic is chronic absenteeism, with both schools exceeding 47%—dramatically higher than the state average of 31.4%. This likely drives the low academic performance, as average ELA and Math proficiency rates are roughly 20-30 percentage points below state averages. A bright spot is advanced coursework: both schools far exceed state averages in Geometry (85% and 94% vs. 56% state) and Civics (83% and 89% vs. 77% state). The biggest academic deficit is 8th Grade Science, where proficiency rates (23% and 29%) are about half the state average (52%). Encouragingly, year-over-year trends show slight improvements in most subjects from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026, suggesting recent instructional changes may be yielding positive results.
Thank you for your feedback!