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SCHOOL COMMUNITY·POLK·NCES 120159001727

DENISON MIDDLE SCHOOL

400 AVENUE A SE, WINTER HAVEN, FL 33880 · (863) 291-5353 · Polk County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL684 STUDENTS
Enrollment
684
Middle
DISTRICT 741 · STATE 794
Student : Teacher
24.4:1
28 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 20.9:1 · STATE 19.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
75%
516 students
DISTRICT 65% · STATE 50%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.

Enrollment by grade, 2024-25

GradeStudentsShare
Grade 618827%
Grade 723034%
Grade 826639%
Student demographics
66%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 67% · STATE 70% · US 70%
White
12819%
DISTRICT 31% · STATE 33% · US 43%
Hispanic
27039%
DISTRICT 43% · STATE 38% · US 30%
Black
26539%
DISTRICT 21% · STATE 21% · US 15%
Asian
71%
DISTRICT 2% · STATE 3% · US 6%
Two+
132%
DISTRICT 3% · STATE 4% · US 5%
Native American
10%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 0% · US 1%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Male
34951%
Female
33549%

Discussions

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Test scores

FAST / B.E.S.T. 2024-25 . % at Level 3 or Above
English Language Arts
34.5%
FL avg 56.7% . +9.2pp since 2023
Math
35.2%
FL avg 58.9% . +5.6pp since 2023

What this means: On the FAST / B.E.S.T., Florida's statewide test, about 35 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 35 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Florida schools, those numbers are about 57 and 59. Reading and writing scores are up about 9 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 6 points.

FAST / B.E.S.T. results by year

School yearEnglish Language ArtsMath
2024-2534.5%35.2%
2023-2425.4%29.6%
% at Level 3 or Above, all students and all tested grades.
Source: FAST / B.E.S.T.. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →

BeatsExpectations

Demographically-adjusted score · methodology
Tier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
32.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
43.4%
based on FL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-11.0pp
below demographic expectation

What this means: About 32% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 43% typical for Florida schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Florida's top nor bottom 10%.

BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →

Where DENISON MIDDLE SCHOOL ranks

Among middle schools
MeasureThis schoolIn FloridaIn Polk County
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
32.4%#538 of 560#19 of 24
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
35.2%#519 of 560#19 of 24
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
34.5%#498 of 560#20 of 24
Enrollment
ranked largest first
684#389 of 584#18 of 26
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
24.4:1#527 of 547#22 of 24
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
65.9%#133 of 553#9 of 24
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked steepest decline first
-19.3%#133 of 379#2 of 13
Ranked against other public middle schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list.

7-year change

SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25
Enrollment
684
-164 (-19%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
24.4:1
was 17.0:1
% White
19%
was 30%
% Hispanic
39%
was 32%
% Black
39%
was 34%
% Asian
1%
was 1%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree or reduced lunch
2024-256842824.4:175% (516)
2023-247293421.4:177% (561)
2022-237383918.9:169% (509)
2017-188485017.0:157% (487)
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for DENISON MIDDLE SCHOOL.

About DENISON MIDDLE SCHOOL

DENISON MIDDLE SCHOOL is a middle school in WINTER HAVEN, Florida, and it is part of POLK. It teaches 684 students in grades 6 through 8.

POLK has 163 schools; together they serve 116,552 students.

No group is above 50% at DENISON MIDDLE SCHOOL; the largest is Hispanic, at 39%. The rest of enrollment is 39% Black and 19% White. Among all residents of Polk County, the Hispanic share is about 29%. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 66%.

The student-to-teacher ratio is 24.4:1. The school has 28 full-time-equivalent teachers. By comparison, the average for middle schools in Florida is 19.6:1. In all, 75% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. That rate is above the 65% average among public schools in Polk County.

Test results at DENISON MIDDLE SCHOOL are 11.0 points below what its free or reduced-price lunch share predicts (32.4% actual, 43.4% predicted).

In the surrounding county, Polk County, median household income comes to about $65,978, about 24% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 11%. The county's public schools total 172, with about 117,004 students.

LANGUAGE & LITERACY ACADEMY FOR LEARNING, about 0.2 miles away, is the closest public school. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. By average proficiency, DENISON MIDDLE SCHOOL is 6th among 6 schools close by.

DENISON MIDDLE SCHOOL falls in the City: Small locale category, used for schools inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.

By 2024-25, enrollment had dropped to 684, from 848 in 2017-18. The White share was 30% in 2017-18 and 19% in 2024-25. By 2024-25, the school had 24.4 students per teacher, compared with 17.0 in 2017-18.

People who know DENISON MIDDLE SCHOOL can post here about homework, tutoring, and testing dates. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.

Polk County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
790,694
Census ACS
Median income
$65,978
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
24%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
172
117,004 students

Quick facts

School name
DENISON MIDDLE SCHOOL
District
POLK
Address
400 AVENUE A SE, WINTER HAVEN, FL 33880
Phone
(863) 291-5353
County
Polk County
Level
Middle
Grade range
06–08
Total enrollment
684
Teachers (FTE)
28
Student–teacher ratio
24.4:1
Free/Reduced lunch
516 (75%)
Locale
13-City: Small
NCES ID
120159001727
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in POLK
Other schools in WINTER HAVEN
Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About DENISON MIDDLE SCHOOL
How many students attend DENISON MIDDLE SCHOOL?
DENISON MIDDLE SCHOOL enrolls approximately 684 students in grades 06-08.
Is DENISON MIDDLE SCHOOL an elementary, middle, or high school?
DENISON MIDDLE SCHOOL is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
How many teachers does DENISON MIDDLE SCHOOL have?
DENISON MIDDLE SCHOOL employs 28 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 24.4:1.
What is the student diversity at DENISON MIDDLE SCHOOL?
Student demographics at DENISON MIDDLE SCHOOL are roughly 19% White, 39% Hispanic, 39% Black, 1% Asian, 2% Two or more.
What district is DENISON MIDDLE SCHOOL in?
DENISON MIDDLE SCHOOL is part of POLK.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
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