CHESTER SHELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

CHESTER SHELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL operates as an intimate primary school in HAWTHORNE, Florida, one of the schools within ALACHUA. Current enrollment sits at 282 students spanning grades K through 5. Enrollment runs roughly 53% smaller than the state mean of about 604.

ALACHUA comprises 60 schools with combined enrollment of 28,255 students; CHESTER SHELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is among them.

Looking at the student body, CHESTER SHELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL records that 48% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups; the rest is composed of 33% Black, 11% multiracial, 8% Hispanic. By comparison, Alachua County as a whole is about 61% White, so the school skews meaningfully less White than its surroundings.

On the income-and-resources front, Staff filings list 19 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 15.2:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 17.5:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. An estimated 76% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is noticeably above Alachua County's rate of about 48%.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, CHESTER SHELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 43.3%; this one delivers 33.9%.

Zooming out to the county, ACS estimates for Alachua County put median household earnings sit near $61,949, roughly 49% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Alachua County runs 68 public schools (combined enrollment of about 29,618 students), of which CHESTER SHELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is one.

HAWTHORNE MIDDLE/HIGH SCHOOL is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.3 miles from this campus. 2 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), CHESTER SHELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ranks 7th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 45.6%.

Geographically, the school is in a countryside area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at CHESTER SHELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL has declined 22%, going from 361 students in 2018 to 282 in 2025. The White share of enrollment ticked down from 57% to 48% over that span. Class-load math has loosened: from 13.4:1 in 2018 to 15.2:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, the feed for CHESTER SHELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL typically covers science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.