JAMES B. SANDERLIN K-8

As a mid-tier elementary-level community in ST PETERSBURG, Florida, JAMES B. SANDERLIN K-8 educates 817 students from grades K through 8, overseen by PINELLAS. That puts it 35% bigger than the typical public school in Florida, which averages around 604 students.

JAMES B. SANDERLIN K-8 is one of 151 schools operated by PINELLAS, a district that instructs 87,955 students overall.

Demographically, JAMES B. SANDERLIN K-8 lists that 41% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups; the rest breaks down as 39% Black, 9% Hispanic, 8% multiracial, 4% Asian. By comparison, Pinellas County as a whole is about 74% White, so the school skews noticeably less White than its surroundings.

Looking at school resources, The school lists 56 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 14.6:1. The state averages around 17.5:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. An estimated 38% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

After controlling for student poverty, JAMES B. SANDERLIN K-8 performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 62.3%, the actual is 67.5%, a residual of +5.2 points.

Zooming out to the county, Pinellas County reports that median household earnings sit near $72,646, roughly 37% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. JAMES B. SANDERLIN K-8 is one of 155 public schools in Pinellas County (combined enrollment of about 87,955 students).

Nearest neighbor: LAKEVIEW FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENTARY, around 0.1 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts JAMES B. SANDERLIN K-8 at 3rd of 9; the average score across the group is 57.2%.

The school occupies a city-core site.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count climbed 39%: 587 students in 2018 compared to 817 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share edged down from 48% to 41%.

In the discussion threads here, members of the JAMES B. SANDERLIN K-8 community share and discuss classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Members of the school community can share what they know.