BUFFALO CREEK MIDDLE SCHOOL

BUFFALO CREEK MIDDLE SCHOOL is a middle-of-the-pack middle school in PALMETTO, Florida, one of the schools within MANATEE. The school enrolls 1,171 students in grades 6 through 8. By comparison, Florida's public schools average about 794 students each, so BUFFALO CREEK MIDDLE SCHOOL sits 47% bigger than that benchmark.

Within MANATEE, which oversees 80 schools and 54,215 students, BUFFALO CREEK MIDDLE SCHOOL is one campus in the system.

On demographics, BUFFALO CREEK MIDDLE SCHOOL shows that 59% of the student body identifies as White; the rest consists of 19% Hispanic, 15% Black, 5% multiracial, 3% Asian. The wider county runs roughly 72% White, putting the school's mix noticeably less White than the area baseline.

In terms of school funding signals, On paper, BUFFALO CREEK MIDDLE SCHOOL has 54 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 21.7:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 19.6:1 average. An estimated 49% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

After controlling for student poverty, BUFFALO CREEK MIDDLE SCHOOL performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 56.4%, the actual is 56.2%, a residual of -0.2 points.

Across the wider county, community-level numbers for Manatee County indicate median household income runs about $78,457, roughly 35% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Manatee County's 86 public schools (combined enrollment of about 54,208 students), BUFFALO CREEK MIDDLE SCHOOL is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is VIRGIL MILLS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, roughly 0.1 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts BUFFALO CREEK MIDDLE SCHOOL at 5th of 9; the average score across the group is 57.1%.

The campus sits in a small-town setting.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count rose 16%: 1,009 students in 2018 compared to 1,171 in 2025. Over the same period, the Hispanic share shrank from 32% to 19%. Class-load math has widened: from 18.7:1 in 2018 to 21.7:1 in 2025.

On this page, the feed for BUFFALO CREEK MIDDLE SCHOOL typically covers open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.