COMBEE ACADEMY OF DESIGN AND ENGINEERING

COMBEE ACADEMY OF DESIGN AND ENGINEERING, a tight-knit elementary school in LAKELAND, Florida, operated by POLK, teaches 479 students, covering grades pre-K through 5. Enrollment runs roughly 21% leaner than the state mean of about 604.

Within POLK, which oversees 163 schools and 116,552 students, COMBEE ACADEMY OF DESIGN AND ENGINEERING is one campus in the system.

On demographics, COMBEE ACADEMY OF DESIGN AND ENGINEERING lists that 46% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. The remainder looks like 35% Hispanic, 15% Black, 4% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 56% White, putting the school's mix considerably less White than the area baseline.

In terms of school funding signals, Staff filings list 36 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 13.3:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 17.5:1, putting COMBEE ACADEMY OF DESIGN AND ENGINEERING tighter than the state norm the norm. 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 Polk County's rate of about 65%.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, COMBEE ACADEMY OF DESIGN AND ENGINEERING sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 43.0%; this one delivers 56.3%.

Around the school, census data for Polk County shows median household income runs about $65,978, roughly 24% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Polk County's 172 public schools (combined enrollment of about 117,004 students), COMBEE ACADEMY OF DESIGN AND ENGINEERING is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: DORIS A. SANDERS LEARNING CENTER, around 0.2 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around COMBEE ACADEMY OF DESIGN AND ENGINEERING. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts COMBEE ACADEMY OF DESIGN AND ENGINEERING at 2nd of 4; the average score across the group is 45.0%.

Geographically, the school is in a bedroom-community area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count fell 31%: 697 students in 2018 compared to 479 in 2025.

On allk12, the feed for COMBEE ACADEMY OF DESIGN AND ENGINEERING typically covers science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.