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Which teacher or staff member at HIGHLANDS GROVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL deserves more recognition?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
691
Elementary
DISTRICT 641 · STATE 604
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·POLK·NCES 120159005338
HIGHLANDS GROVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
4510 LAKELAND HIGHLANDS RD, LAKELAND, FL 33813 · (863) 648-3002 · Polk County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL691 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
15.0:1
46 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.3:1 · STATE 17.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
50%
346 students
DISTRICT 65% · STATE 50%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 39 | 6% |
| Kindergarten | 96 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 114 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 100 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 122 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 114 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 106 | 15% |
Student demographics
64%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 67% · STATE 70% · US 70%
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
Test scores
FAST / B.E.S.T. 2024-25 . % at Level 3 or AboveEnglish Language Arts
64.2%
FL avg 56.7% . +4.5pp since 2023
Math
69.2%
FL avg 58.9% . -1.7pp since 2023
What this means: On the FAST / B.E.S.T., Florida's statewide test, about 64 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 69 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 5 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 2 points.
FAST / B.E.S.T. results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 64.2% | 69.2% |
| 2023-24 | 59.6% | 70.9% |
% 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 · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
66.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
56.1%
based on FL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+10.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 67% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 56% 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 HIGHLANDS GROVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Florida | In Polk County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 66.5% | #584 of 2,136 | #13 of 85 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 69.2% | #684 of 2,149 | #13 of 86 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 64.2% | #653 of 2,149 | #14 of 86 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 691 | #734 of 2,267 | #32 of 89 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.0:1 | #696 of 2,077 | #12 of 85 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 63.8% | #641 of 2,108 | #50 of 85 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -12.8% | #806 of 1,374 | #12 of 39 |
Ranked against other public elementary 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 2024-25Enrollment
691
-101 (-13%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
15.0:1
was 15.5:1
% White
51%
was 60%
% Hispanic
28%
was 21%
% Black
15%
was 12%
% Asian
3%
was 3%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free or reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 691 | 46 | 15.0:1 | 50% (346) |
| 2023-24 | 712 | 45 | 15.8:1 | 47% (334) |
| 2022-23 | 731 | 46 | 15.9:1 | 36% (262) |
| 2017-18 | 792 | 51 | 15.5:1 | 38% (304) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for HIGHLANDS GROVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
About HIGHLANDS GROVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
HIGHLANDS GROVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL operates as a medium-sized elementary school in LAKELAND, Florida. The school counts 691 students across pre-K through 5.
HIGHLANDS GROVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL reports to POLK, which has 163 schools and 116,552 students.
By race and ethnicity, HIGHLANDS GROVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is 51% White. It is also 28% Hispanic, 15% Black, 3% multiracial, and 3% Asian. HIGHLANDS GROVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL has a diversity index of 64%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
The school's student-to-teacher ratio is about 15.0:1, with 46 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average ratio among elementary schools in Florida is 17.5:1, higher than at this school. Students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch make up 50% of enrollment. On average, public schools in Polk County report 65%.
Compared with Florida schools that have similar shares of low-income students, HIGHLANDS GROVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL's results are 10.5 points above predicted: 66.5% against 56.1%.
Within Polk County, median household income is about $65,978, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 24%, and roughly 11% of residents are in poverty. The public schools of Polk County number 172 and enroll about 117,004.
Nearest public school: GEORGE W. JENKINS SENIOR HIGH, about 1.8 miles away. The five-mile area around HIGHLANDS GROVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL holds at least 8 other public schools. HIGHLANDS GROVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ranks 2nd of 5 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 66.5% against a local average of 57.9%.
The school's locale code, Suburb: Large, means it is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
A comparison of 2017-18 and 2024-25 shows enrollment down 13%, from 792 to 691. White students made up 60% of enrollment in 2017-18 and 51% in 2024-25.
Topics for discussion here include sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Polk County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
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
Related schools
Other schools in POLK
- HAINES CITY SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 3,105 students
- DAVENPORT HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,731 students
- WINTER HAVEN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,648 students
- RIDGE COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,632 students
- GEORGE W. JENKINS SENIOR HIGHHigh · 2,469 students
- BARTOW SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,276 students
Other schools in LAKELAND
- GEORGE W. JENKINS SENIOR HIGHHigh · 2,469 students
- LAKELAND SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,985 students
- LAKE GIBSON SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,973 students
- KATHLEEN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,861 students
- MCKEEL ACADEMY OF TECHNOLOGYHigh · 1,750 students
- SOUTH MCKEEL ACADEMYElementary · 1,200 students
Nearby schools
- GEORGE W. JENKINS SENIOR HIGH1.8 mi · 2,469
- LAKELAND HIGHLANDS MIDDLE SCHOOL1.9 mi · 1,118
- CARLTON PALMORE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL1.9 mi · 402
- MAYNARD A TRAVISS TECHNICAL ACADEMY2.0 mi · 151
- BILL DUNCAN OPPORTUNITY CENTER2.0 mi · 87
- POLK STATE COLLEGE COLLEGIATE HIGH SCHOOL2.0 mi · 343
Frequently asked questions
About HIGHLANDS GROVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLHow many students attend HIGHLANDS GROVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
HIGHLANDS GROVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL enrolls approximately 691 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does HIGHLANDS GROVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL serve?
HIGHLANDS GROVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many teachers does HIGHLANDS GROVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL have?
HIGHLANDS GROVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL employs 46 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.0:1.
How diverse is HIGHLANDS GROVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
HIGHLANDS GROVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL reports a student body of 51% White, 28% Hispanic, 15% Black, 3% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Is HIGHLANDS GROVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL public or private?
HIGHLANDS GROVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is a public K-12 school, overseen by POLK.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.