PROFESSIONAL ACADEMY MAGNET AT LOFTEN HIGH SCHOOL

PROFESSIONAL ACADEMY MAGNET AT LOFTEN HIGH SCHOOL is a tiny secondary school in GAINESVILLE, Florida, one of the schools within ALACHUA. The school teaches 328 students in grades 9 through 12. Enrollment runs roughly 68% smaller than the state mean of about 1,035.

Across the 60 schools in ALACHUA (28,255 students total), PROFESSIONAL ACADEMY MAGNET AT LOFTEN HIGH SCHOOL accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Demographically, PROFESSIONAL ACADEMY MAGNET AT LOFTEN HIGH SCHOOL reports that 49% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. The remainder reads as 23% Black, 19% Hispanic, 7% multiracial, 2% Asian. That is meaningfully less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 61%.

In terms of school funding signals, The school employs 18 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 18.2:1. The state averages around 23.5:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. About 45% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, PROFESSIONAL ACADEMY MAGNET AT LOFTEN HIGH SCHOOL tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 58.4% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 59.0%.

In the surrounding community, ACS estimates for Alachua County put median household earnings sit near $61,949, roughly 49% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. PROFESSIONAL ACADEMY MAGNET AT LOFTEN HIGH SCHOOL is one of 68 public schools in Alachua County (combined enrollment of about 29,618 students).

Nearest neighbor: EARLY LEARNING ACADEMY AT DUVAL, around 0.7 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts PROFESSIONAL ACADEMY MAGNET AT LOFTEN HIGH SCHOOL at 1st of 6; the average score across the group is 39.9%.

Geographically, the school is in a metropolitan area.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count edged up 17%: 280 students in 2018 compared to 328 in 2025. Hispanic enrollment moved from 10% to 19% across the same window. Class-load math has grew: from 16.5:1 in 2018 to 18.2:1 in 2025.

On allk12, 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.