Summary:
There are four elementary schools serving grades PK-5 in the 33844 zip code of Haines City, Florida, all part of the Polk school district, which ranks in the bottom 13% of Florida districts.
The standout school in this area is Bethune Academy, which is the only school in the zip code to earn a 3-star rating and ranks in the 54th percentile statewide. It dramatically outperforms its peers, with an average math proficiency of 63.7% and ELA proficiency of 60.3%, compared to the other three schools which all rank in the bottom 10-12th percentile. For example, in 5th Grade Science, Bethune Academy scored 63% proficient while the next closest school, Alta Vista Elementary, scored just 39%. Bethune Academy also has a remarkably low chronic absenteeism rate of 21.1%, less than half the district average of 39.1%. In contrast, Sandhill Elementary School is the lowest performer, ranking 2072 out of 2240 schools (7th percentile) with the highest student-to-teacher ratio of 18.8:1 and the lowest scores in several subjects, including 3rd Grade Math at 31%.
A critical finding is that chronic absenteeism is a systemic crisis in this zip code, with three of the four schools—Sandhill, Alta Vista, and Eastside Elementary—all having rates above 46%, far exceeding the state average of 31.4%. This directly correlates with low academic performance. Interestingly, spending per student does not predict success; Bethune Academy has the highest spending at $11,143 per student, but Eastside Elementary, a low performer, spends nearly as much at $11,092. The data suggests that school culture and attendance are far more impactful than funding alone, with Bethune Academy proving that high performance is achievable even while serving a high percentage of economically disadvantaged students.
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