LAWTON CHILES ELEMENTARY

LAWTON CHILES ELEMENTARY, a low-enrollment primary school in ORLANDO, Florida, part of ORANGE, instructs 503 students, covering grades pre-K through 5.

Across the 272 schools in ORANGE (207,778 students total), LAWTON CHILES ELEMENTARY accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Demographically, LAWTON CHILES ELEMENTARY records that the largest single group is Hispanic, at 64% of enrollment. The remainder is composed of 16% White, 15% Black, 3% multiracial. By comparison, Orange County as a whole is about 34% Hispanic, so the school skews meaningfully more Hispanic than its surroundings.

On the income-and-resources front, On paper, LAWTON CHILES ELEMENTARY has 33 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 15.2:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 17.5:1, putting LAWTON CHILES ELEMENTARY tighter than the state norm the norm. Around 65% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is above Orange County's rate of about 39%.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, LAWTON CHILES ELEMENTARY tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 48.5% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 61.6%.

In the surrounding community, community-level numbers for Orange County indicate median household income runs about $79,719, roughly 39% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 10%. In all, Orange County runs 286 public schools (combined enrollment of about 216,813 students), of which LAWTON CHILES ELEMENTARY is one.

The closest other public school is LEGACY MIDDLE, roughly 0.9 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), LAWTON CHILES ELEMENTARY ranks 3rd on composite proficiency, higher than the local average of 54.7%.

Geographically, the school is in a bedroom-community area.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count fell 24%: 663 students in 2018 compared to 503 in 2025. Over the same period, the Hispanic share declined from 70% to 64%.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.