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What do you wish you knew before starting at INDEPENDENCE ACADEMY?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
811
Elementary
DISTRICT 600 · STATE 604
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HILLSBOROUGH·NCES 120087006873
INDEPENDENCE ACADEMY
12902 E US HIGHWAY 92, DOVER, FL 33527 · (813) 473-8600 · Hillsborough County
GRADES KG–08ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBCHARTERREGULAR SCHOOL811 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
20.3:1
40 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.6:1 · STATE 17.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
16%
128 students
DISTRICT 49% · STATE 50%
Community
6
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 66 | 8% |
| Grade 1 | 82 | 10% |
| Grade 2 | 79 | 10% |
| Grade 3 | 98 | 12% |
| Grade 4 | 98 | 12% |
| Grade 5 | 80 | 10% |
| Grade 6 | 105 | 13% |
| Grade 7 | 110 | 14% |
| Grade 8 | 93 | 11% |
This year's kindergarten class (66) is 29% smaller than its 8th grade class (93).
Student demographics
60%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 71% · 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
59.8%
FL avg 56.7% . +2.9pp since 2023
Math
57.0%
FL avg 58.9% . +2.1pp since 2023
What this means: On the FAST / B.E.S.T., Florida's statewide test, about 60 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 57 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 3 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 2 points.
FAST / B.E.S.T. results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 59.8% | 57.0% |
| 2023-24 | 56.9% | 54.8% |
% 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
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of FL schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
56.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
73.3%
based on FL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-17.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 56% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 73% typical for Florida schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like INDEPENDENCE ACADEMY
INDEPENDENCE ACADEMY's state test result (56.3% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| INDEPENDENCE ACADEMY this school | 811 | 15.8% | 56.3% |
| WATERS EDGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BOCA RATON | 706 | 15.2% | 86.4% |
| BLUE LAKE ELEMENTARY BOCA RATON | 912 | 16.4% | 80.9% |
| BEACHSIDE MONTESSORI VILLAGE HOLLYWOOD | 718 | 21.7% | 89.7% |
| MITCHELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TAMPA | 698 | 21.8% | 76.8% |
| PINEWOODS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ESTERO | 1,025 | 21.7% | 75.1% |
Matched among Florida elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where INDEPENDENCE ACADEMY ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Florida | In Hillsborough County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 56.3% | #1,037 of 2,136 | #61 of 172 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 57.0% | #1,246 of 2,149 ▼ 86 | #79 of 176 ▼ 9 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 59.8% | #842 of 2,149 ▲ 15 | #53 of 176 ▲ 5 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 811 | #447 of 2,267 | #37 of 182 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 20.3:1 | #1,958 of 2,077 | #144 of 164 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 60.0% | #885 of 2,108 | #96 of 169 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 15.8% | #2,054 of 2,188 | #152 of 174 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -9.3% | #983 of 1,374 | #91 of 124 |
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. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
811
-106 (-12%) vs 2020
+113% since 2010-11, when it was 381
Student : Teacher
20.3:1
was 17.3:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 811 | 40 | 20.3:1 | 16% (128) |
| 2023-24 | 907 | 46 | 19.7:1 | 45% (412) |
| 2022-23 | 914 | 48 | 19.0:1 | 40% (364) |
| 2020-21 | 917 | 53 | 17.3:1 | 22% (203) |
| 2017-18 | 894 | 67 | 13.3:1 | 13% (117) |
| 2015-16 | 486 | 36 | 13.5:1 | 8% (37) |
| 2010-11 | 381 | 24 | 15.9:1 | 30% (116) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for INDEPENDENCE ACADEMY.
About INDEPENDENCE ACADEMY
INDEPENDENCE ACADEMY runs as a medium-sized elementary school in DOVER, Florida. The school's 811 students are in kindergarten through 8. Enrollment is 34% higher than the average for elementary schools in Florida, which is about 604.
HILLSBOROUGH counts 221,318 students in its 300 schools, and INDEPENDENCE ACADEMY is one of them.
White students account for 53% of enrollment at INDEPENDENCE ACADEMY. Smaller groups are 33% Hispanic, 7% Black, 4% multiracial, and 2% Asian. For comparison, Hillsborough County is about 51% White. The chance that two students picked at random at INDEPENDENCE ACADEMY belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 60%.
Staffing totals 40 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the student-to-teacher ratio is 20.3:1. For comparison, elementary schools in Florida average 17.5:1. A measure often used for student poverty, free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, stands at 16%. That rate is below the 43% average among public schools in Hillsborough County.
The school's average proficiency rate on state tests, 56.3%, is 17.0 points below the 73.3% the model predicts from its free or reduced-price lunch share. That result is in the bottom 10% of Florida schools.
Within Hillsborough County, median household income is about $79,540, 38% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 9% of people live in poverty. The public schools of Hillsborough County number 320 and enroll about 223,193.
Nearby, BAILEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is about 0.4 miles away. INDEPENDENCE ACADEMY is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Nearby schools average 45.4% on proficiency, and INDEPENDENCE ACADEMY is above that at 56.3%.
Federal records code the school's setting as Suburb: Large. It is a charter school, open to the public and funded by taxpayers.
INDEPENDENCE ACADEMY saw enrollment fall 12% between 2020-21 and 2024-25. The number of students per teacher rose from 17.3 to 20.3 over 4 years.
Questions about science fairs, picture day, and bus routes can be posted here. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Hillsborough County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,522,748
Census ACS
Median income
$79,540
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
38%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
320
223,193 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in HILLSBOROUGH
- FLORIDA CONNECTIONS ACADEMYCombined · 5,748 students
- JULE F SUMNER HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 3,602 students
- NEWSOME HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 3,157 students
- ALONSO HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,863 students
- PLANT CITY HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,572 students
- LENNARD HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,553 students
Other schools in DOVER
- STRAWBERRY CREST HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,501 students
- BAILEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 719 students
- NELSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 630 students
- DOVER ELEMENTARYElementary · 530 students
- WILLIS PETERS EXCEPTIONAL CENTERCombined · 61 students
Other Independence Academy schools
One other US public school is named Independence Academy. INDEPENDENCE ACADEMY is the largest of the 2.
- Independence AcademyGRAND JUNCTION, CO · 491 students
Nearby schools
- BAILEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL0.4 mi · 719
- STRAWBERRY CREST HIGH SCHOOL0.6 mi · 2,501
- BURNETT MIDDLE SCHOOL2.3 mi · 636
- LOPEZ ELEMENTARY SCHOOL2.6 mi · 511
- MCDONALD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL2.6 mi · 526
- BRANDON SUCCESS CENTER2.6 mi · 97
Frequently asked questions
About INDEPENDENCE ACADEMYHow large is INDEPENDENCE ACADEMY?
INDEPENDENCE ACADEMY enrolls approximately 811 students in grades KG-08.
What grades does INDEPENDENCE ACADEMY serve?
INDEPENDENCE ACADEMY serves grades KG-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at INDEPENDENCE ACADEMY?
The student-to-teacher ratio at INDEPENDENCE ACADEMY is approximately 20.3:1 (40 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at INDEPENDENCE ACADEMY?
At INDEPENDENCE ACADEMY, the student body is approximately 53% White, 33% Hispanic, 7% Black, 2% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Is INDEPENDENCE ACADEMY public or private?
INDEPENDENCE ACADEMY is a public K-12 school operated as a charter, overseen by HILLSBOROUGH.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.