BAKER/HEAD START

Set in PUNTA GORDA, Florida, BAKER/HEAD START is a tiny elementary-level community, one of the schools within CHARLOTTE. It hosts 165 students across grade pre-K. By comparison, Florida's public schools average about 604 students each, so BAKER/HEAD START sits 73% smaller than that benchmark.

Within CHARLOTTE, which oversees 24 schools and 16,997 students, BAKER/HEAD START is one campus in the system.

In terms of who attends, BAKER/HEAD START logs that the largest single group is White at 37%, but no single group is in the majority. Other groups include 24% Hispanic, 22% Black, 15% multiracial. That is meaningfully less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 83%.

In terms of school funding signals, BAKER/HEAD START reports 2 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 82.5:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 17.5:1 average. An estimated 77% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. By comparison, Charlotte County runs at roughly 43%, so the school's eligibility rate is higher than the surrounding baseline.

Around the school, the surrounding county (Charlotte County) reports that median household earnings sit near $69,952, about 27% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 6%. Across Charlotte County's 25 public schools (combined enrollment of about 16,997 students), BAKER/HEAD START is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is SALLIE JONES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, roughly 0.4 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools.

The school occupies an urban site.

Over the past 7-year window. BAKER/HEAD START's enrollment has fell 5% since 2018, when it stood at 173 (now 165). Black enrollment moved from 28% to 22% across the same window. Class-load math has rose: from 34.6:1 in 2018 to 82.5:1 in 2025.

On the community side, the feed for BAKER/HEAD START typically covers sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.