1
Teachers: what resource would make the biggest difference at JAMES STEPHENS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL this year?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
730
Elementary
DISTRICT 805 · STATE 604
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LEE·NCES 120108007597
JAMES STEPHENS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
1333 MARSH AVE, FORT MYERS, FL 33905 · (239) 337-1333 · Lee County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL730 STUDENTS
F
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 2% of Florida public elementary schools
- FTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- DBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Florida public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
20.0:1
37 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.2:1 · STATE 17.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
71%
519 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 134 | 18% |
| Kindergarten | 86 | 12% |
| Grade 1 | 102 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 91 | 12% |
| Grade 3 | 124 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 80 | 11% |
| Grade 5 | 113 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (86) is 24% smaller than its 5th grade class (113).
Student demographics
56%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 63% · 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
26.1%
FL avg 56.7% . +4.8pp since 2023
Math
31.9%
FL avg 58.9% . -15.3pp since 2023
What this means: On the FAST / B.E.S.T., Florida's statewide test, about 26 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 32 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 15 points.
FAST / B.E.S.T. results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 26.1% | 31.9% |
| 2023-24 | 21.3% | 47.3% |
% 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
30.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
45.5%
based on FL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-15.2pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 30% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 46% 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 JAMES STEPHENS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
JAMES STEPHENS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL's state test result (30.3% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| JAMES STEPHENS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL this school | 730 | 71.1% | 30.3% |
| NORTHBORO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WEST PALM BEACH | 728 | 73.5% | 62.0% |
| EDGEWOOD ACADEMY FORT MYERS | 598 | 68.7% | 35.8% |
| COLONIAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FORT MYERS | 661 | 66.7% | 30.4% |
| MANGO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SEFFNER | 740 | 72.2% | 30.0% |
| KOA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL KISSIMMEE | 714 | 68.8% | 36.2% |
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 JAMES STEPHENS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Florida | In Lee County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 30.3% | #2,070 of 2,136 | #55 of 58 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 31.9% | #2,081 of 2,149 ▼ 549 | #54 of 58 ▼ 17 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 26.1% | #2,108 of 2,149 ▲ 27 | #58 of 58 ▼ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 730 | #623 of 2,267 | #36 of 61 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 20.0:1 | #1,939 of 2,077 | #48 of 57 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 56.4% | #1,059 of 2,108 | #29 of 58 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 71.1% | #415 of 2,188 | #6 of 59 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +87.7% | #20 of 621 | #1 of 31 |
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
730
+317 (+77%) vs 2020
-18% since 2010-11, when it was 894
Student : Teacher
20.0:1
was 16.5:1
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 | 730 | 36.5 | 20.0:1 | 71% (519) |
| 2023-24 | 541 | 24.5 | 22.1:1 | 70% (379) |
| 2022-23 | 454 | 26.5 | 17.1:1 | 65% (297) |
| 2020-21 | 413 | 25 | 16.5:1 | 65% (267) |
| 2017-18 | 389 | 39 | 10.0:1 | 78% (303) |
| 2015-16 | 645 | 42 | 15.4:1 | 80% (515) |
| 2010-11 | 894 | 50 | 17.9:1 | 89% (800) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for JAMES STEPHENS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
About JAMES STEPHENS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
JAMES STEPHENS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is a mid-sized elementary school based in FORT MYERS, Florida. Its enrollment is 730 students, spread over pre-K through 5. That compares with an average of about 604 students for elementary schools in Florida.
Across its 116 schools, LEE enrolls 102,524 students. JAMES STEPHENS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is one of those schools.
Federal enrollment data show JAMES STEPHENS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is 53% Hispanic. Beyond that, enrollment is 39% Black, 5% White, and 2% multiracial. In Lee County overall, about 25% of residents are Hispanic. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 56%.
JAMES STEPHENS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL reports a ratio of 20.0 students per teacher, from 36.5 full-time-equivalent teachers. The school's 20.0:1 compares with an average of 17.5:1 for elementary schools in Florida. Lunch program data show 71% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals. That is higher than the 48% average for public schools in Lee County.
JAMES STEPHENS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL holds an F allk12 Grade, placing it above 2% of Florida public elementary schools.
After accounting for student poverty, JAMES STEPHENS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is in the bottom 10% of Florida schools. Its average proficiency rate across its state test results of 30.3% is 15.2 points below the 45.5% predicted for its lunch-eligibility share.
For Lee County, Census Bureau data show median household income comes to about $76,107, about 31% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 8% of residents are in poverty. There are 123 public schools in the county, enrolling about 102,524, JAMES STEPHENS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL among them.
YOUNG PARENT EDUCATION PROGRAM, about 0.9 miles away, is the closest public school. Other public schools within five miles number at least 8. JAMES STEPHENS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is 4th of 5 nearby schools by average proficiency rate.
NCES describes the area around JAMES STEPHENS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL as City: Small, meaning inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
The school counted 413 students in 2020-21 and 730 in 2024-25. A shift in the grades offered could account for part of the difference. From 2020-21 to 2024-25, the ratio increased from 16.5:1 to 20.0:1.
The discussion board for JAMES STEPHENS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is open to topics like special education services, counseling, and support programs. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Lee County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
817,666
Census ACS
Median income
$76,107
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
31%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
123
102,524 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in LEE
- GATEWAY CHARTER SCHOOLCombined · 3,192 students
- LEHIGH SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,550 students
- GATEWAY HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,343 students
- IDA S. BAKER HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,191 students
- EAST LEE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,129 students
- CAPE CORAL HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,008 students
Other schools in FORT MYERS
- GATEWAY CHARTER SCHOOLCombined · 3,192 students
- GATEWAY HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,343 students
- RIVERDALE HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,916 students
- FORT MYERS HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,835 students
- DUNBAR HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,734 students
- SOUTH FORT MYERS HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,693 students
Nearby schools
- YOUNG PARENT EDUCATION PROGRAM0.9 mi · 48
- EARLY CHILDHOOD LEARNING SERVICES0.9 mi · 187
- SUCCESS ACADEMY0.9 mi · 84
- EDGEWOOD ACADEMY1.1 mi · 598
- TICE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL1.1 mi · 516
- DUNBAR HIGH SCHOOL1.6 mi · 1,734
Frequently asked questions
About JAMES STEPHENS ELEMENTARY SCHOOLHow many students attend JAMES STEPHENS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
JAMES STEPHENS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL enrolls approximately 730 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does JAMES STEPHENS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL serve?
JAMES STEPHENS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL serves grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at JAMES STEPHENS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
The student-to-teacher ratio at JAMES STEPHENS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is approximately 20.0:1 (37 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at JAMES STEPHENS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
At JAMES STEPHENS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, the student body is approximately 5% White, 53% Hispanic, 39% Black, 2% Two or more.
Is JAMES STEPHENS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL public or private?
JAMES STEPHENS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is a public K-12 school, overseen by LEE.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.