Summary:
The five elementary schools in zip code 33830 (Bartow, FL) serve students from pre-kindergarten through 8th grade and are part of the Polk County School District, offering a diverse range of academic environments from a top-performing academy to schools facing significant challenges.
Bartow Elementary Academy stands out as the clear academic leader, consistently earning a 4-star rating with test scores far above district and state averages, and it also boasts the lowest chronic absenteeism rate at 17.6%. In contrast, Bella Citta presents a paradox: it is a large, 1-star school with low overall test scores and a staggering 57.4% chronic absenteeism rate, yet its students in advanced courses like Algebra 1 and Geometry perform exceptionally well, far exceeding district averages. James E. Stephens Academy is notable for its positive trajectory, improving from a 2-star to a 3-star rating over three years, and it has the highest per-student spending ($17,386) and the lowest student-to-teacher ratio (14.6:1), likely reflecting targeted support for its high-needs population (79.17% free/reduced lunch). Meanwhile, Spessard L. Holland Elementary and Floral Avenue Elementary School are both 1-star schools that have seen declining state rankings, with moderate-to-high poverty rates and chronic absenteeism around 40-41%.
A key takeaway is that higher spending does not guarantee better results, as Bartow Elementary Academy achieves 4-star outcomes with significantly less per-student spending ($11,212) than James E. Stephens Academy. The strongest correlation in the data is between chronic absenteeism and academic performance: the schools with the lowest absenteeism rates consistently outperform those with higher rates, suggesting that improving attendance is a critical lever for success across this zip code.
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