Summary:
Zip code 34984 in Port St. Lucie, Florida, is home to two very different schools within the St. Lucie school district: Bayshore Elementary School, serving grades PK-5, and Acceleration Academy, an alternative high school. The district itself ranks slightly below the state average, but the two schools represent completely different educational realities.
Bayshore Elementary School is the standout performer in the area, consistently exceeding district and state averages in key subjects like 5th-grade Science (72% proficient) and 3rd-grade Math (79% proficient). Despite serving a high-poverty population with 67.69% of students receiving free or reduced lunch, the school has shown an upward trend in its state ranking, moving from the 43rd to the 54th percentile. It also maintains a healthy student-teacher ratio of 18.3:1 and spends $10,808 per student. In stark contrast, Acceleration Academy faces severe challenges, including a catastrophic 88.9% chronic absenteeism rate and a graduation rate of just 51.3%, far below the district's 94.5%. Its test scores are dramatically lower, with only 7% proficient in Geometry and 10% in Biology.
The most striking finding is the spending paradox: Acceleration Academy, which serves the most at-risk students, receives $3,796 less per student than Bayshore Elementary, contributing to an unsustainable student-teacher ratio of 83.6:1. While Bayshore Elementary is on an upward trajectory, Acceleration Academy remains stagnant at the bottom of state rankings. For parents, this zip code offers a high-performing elementary school that overcomes socioeconomic barriers, but the alternative high school is in a crisis of engagement and achievement that requires significant intervention.
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