FESSENDEN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

FESSENDEN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL operates as a cozy elementary school in OCALA, Florida, one of the schools within MARION. Current enrollment sits at 430 students spanning grades pre-K through 5. Compared to the state average of about 604 students per school, that is 29% smaller than typical.

MARION comprises 62 schools with combined enrollment of 46,349 students; FESSENDEN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is among them.

Looking at the student body, FESSENDEN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL lists that the largest single group is Hispanic at 38%, but no single group is in the majority. Other groups include 30% Black, 26% White, 6% multiracial. That is considerably more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 17%.

On the income-and-resources front, Staff filings list 27 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 15.9:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 17.5:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. An estimated 75% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is north of Marion County's rate of about 57%.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), FESSENDEN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 43.4%, the actual is 30.9%, a residual of -12.5 points.

Across the wider county, ACS estimates for Marion County put the typical household earns roughly $61,010 per year, roughly 23% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. FESSENDEN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is one of 68 public schools in Marion County (combined enrollment of about 46,349 students).

Nearest neighbor: OCALA CENTER FOR SUCCESS AND INDEPENDENCE, around 1.7 miles off. Within five miles, there are 5 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts FESSENDEN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL at 6th of 6; the average score across the group is 41.5%.

Geographically, the school is in a small-town area.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count held roughly steady: 435 students in 2018 compared to 430 in 2025. The Hispanic share of enrollment increased from 30% to 38% over that span.

Within the allk12 community for this school, posts here usually surface around enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. Members of the school community can share what they know.