LAKELAND HIGHLANDS MIDDLE SCHOOL

LAKELAND HIGHLANDS MIDDLE SCHOOL is an intermediate school of average-sized scale in LAKELAND, Florida, run under POLK, instructing 1,118 students in grades 6 through 8. By comparison, Florida's public schools average about 794 students each, so LAKELAND HIGHLANDS MIDDLE SCHOOL sits 41% bigger than that benchmark.

POLK runs 163 schools in total, collectively educating 116,552 students. LAKELAND HIGHLANDS MIDDLE SCHOOL is one of those campuses.

Demographically, LAKELAND HIGHLANDS MIDDLE SCHOOL records that the most-represented group is White (49%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. Beyond that, the school records 30% Hispanic, 15% Black, 3% Asian, 3% multiracial.

In terms of school funding signals, Staff filings list 61 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 18.3:1 students per teacher. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 19.6:1 average. An estimated 52% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. By comparison, Polk County runs at roughly 65%, so the school's eligibility rate is lower than the surrounding baseline.

With demographic context factored in, LAKELAND HIGHLANDS MIDDLE SCHOOL tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 54.9% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 54.0%.

In the broader community, the surrounding county (Polk County) logs that median household earnings sit near $65,978, about 24% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 11%. LAKELAND HIGHLANDS MIDDLE SCHOOL is one of 172 public schools in Polk County (combined enrollment of about 117,004 students).

Nearest neighbor: MEDULLA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, around 1.3 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around LAKELAND HIGHLANDS MIDDLE SCHOOL. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), LAKELAND HIGHLANDS MIDDLE SCHOOL ranks 5th on composite proficiency, ahead of the local average of 53.1%.

Geographically, the school is in a metropolitan area.

Over the past 7-year window. LAKELAND HIGHLANDS MIDDLE SCHOOL's enrollment has ticked down 9% since 2018, when it stood at 1,226 (now 1,118). Hispanic enrollment moved from 20% to 30% across the same window.

On this page, recent activity here tends to focus on science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.