LAKE PLACID ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

LAKE PLACID ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is a medium-sized K-5 school in LAKE PLACID, Florida, one of the schools within HIGHLANDS. The school instructs 569 students in grades pre-K through 5.

LAKE PLACID ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is one of 22 schools operated by HIGHLANDS, a district that teaches 12,040 students overall.

For racial and ethnic makeup, LAKE PLACID ELEMENTARY SCHOOL logs that the most-represented group is White (41%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. The remainder looks like 34% Hispanic, 18% Black, 5% multiracial. By comparison, Highlands County as a whole is about 68% White, so the school skews considerably less White than its surroundings.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 35 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 16.5:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 17.5:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Around 73% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is north of Highlands County's rate of about 63%.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), LAKE PLACID ELEMENTARY SCHOOL sits in the top 10% of Florida schools after the BeatsExpectations adjustment. Predicted proficiency for the school's FRL share is roughly 44.6%; actual is 63.4%, +18.8 points clear of the demographic baseline.

Across the wider county, Highlands County reports that the typical household earns roughly $54,897 per year, roughly 21% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Highlands County runs 24 public schools (combined enrollment of about 12,040 students), of which LAKE PLACID ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is one.

The closest other public school is LAKE PLACID HIGH SCHOOL, roughly 0.2 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 3 other public schools cluster around LAKE PLACID ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. On composite proficiency, LAKE PLACID ELEMENTARY SCHOOL comes 1st of 7 in the immediate cluster, ahead of the nearby-schools average of 51.0%.

The campus sits in a town-center setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count contracted 28%: 786 students in 2018 compared to 569 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, the feed for LAKE PLACID ELEMENTARY SCHOOL typically covers sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.