FOREST RIDGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Set in HERNANDO, Florida, FOREST RIDGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is a moderately sized elementary-level community, part of CITRUS. It enrolls 665 students across grades pre-K through 5.

FOREST RIDGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is one of 26 schools operated by CITRUS, a district that works with 15,594 students overall.

Demographically, FOREST RIDGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL lists that the largest single group is White, at 65% of enrollment; the rest breaks down as 21% Hispanic, 6% multiracial, 4% Asian, 4% Black. By comparison, Citrus County as a whole is about 88% White, so the school skews considerably less White than its surroundings.

On the income-and-resources front, FOREST RIDGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL shows 37 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 17.9:1. That tracks the state average closely. An estimated 51% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, FOREST RIDGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 55.6% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 55.0%.

Around the school, census data for Citrus County shows median household income runs about $56,546, roughly 21% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 12%. In all, Citrus County runs 28 public schools (combined enrollment of about 15,594 students), of which FOREST RIDGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is one.

HERNANDO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is the nearest neighboring public school, about 3.7 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 4 other public schools cluster around FOREST RIDGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. Among the 7 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), FOREST RIDGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ranks 5th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 55.7%.

The school occupies an outer-ring site.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count fell 10%: 735 students in 2018 compared to 665 in 2025. Over the same period, the Hispanic share rose from 13% to 21%. Class-load math has widened: from 16.0:1 in 2018 to 17.9:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, recent activity here tends to focus on open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.