JAMES W. SIKES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

JAMES W. SIKES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is a close-knit elementary-level community in LAKELAND, Florida, part of POLK. The school works with 502 students in grades pre-K through 5.

Within POLK, which oversees 163 schools and 116,552 students, JAMES W. SIKES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is one campus in the system.

On demographics, JAMES W. SIKES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL lists that the most-represented group is White (46%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. The remainder breaks down as 35% Hispanic, 14% Black, 5% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 56% White, putting the school's mix visibly less White than the area baseline.

Looking at school resources, On paper, JAMES W. SIKES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL has 35 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 14.3:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 17.5:1 average. An estimated 62% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, JAMES W. SIKES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 50.3% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 56.8%.

Around the school, the surrounding county (Polk County) records that the typical household earns roughly $65,978 per year, about 24% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and roughly 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Polk County runs 172 public schools (combined enrollment of about 117,004 students), of which JAMES W. SIKES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is one.

Nearest neighbor: WILLOW OAK SCHOOL, around 1.0 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, JAMES W. SIKES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL comes 2nd of 8 in the immediate cluster, above the nearby-schools average of 47.7%.

The campus sits in a suburban setting.

Looking at the recent track record. JAMES W. SIKES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL's enrollment has decreased 42% since 2018, when it stood at 860 (now 502). Class-load math has pulled in: from 15.4:1 in 2018 to 14.3:1 in 2025.

On the community side, posts here usually surface around open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.