THOMAS L SIMS MIDDLE SCHOOL

Located at 5500 EDUCATION DR, in PACE, Florida, THOMAS L SIMS MIDDLE SCHOOL is a mid-tier middle school that hosts 823 students (grades 6 through 8), run under SANTA ROSA.

SANTA ROSA comprises 38 schools with combined enrollment of 29,643 students; THOMAS L SIMS MIDDLE SCHOOL is among them.

On demographics, THOMAS L SIMS MIDDLE SCHOOL records that the largest single group is White, at 76% of enrollment. Other groups include 10% multiracial, 8% Hispanic, 3% Black, 2% Asian.

Looking at school resources, THOMAS L SIMS MIDDLE SCHOOL lists 40 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 20.6:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 19.6:1, putting THOMAS L SIMS MIDDLE SCHOOL higher than the state norm the norm. About 40% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), THOMAS L SIMS MIDDLE SCHOOL performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 61.1%, the actual is 72.4%, a residual of +11.3 points.

In the area at large, the surrounding county (Santa Rosa County) shows that the typical household earns roughly $91,922 per year, roughly 32% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 7%. Across Santa Rosa County's 42 public schools (combined enrollment of about 29,382 students), THOMAS L SIMS MIDDLE SCHOOL is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: S. S. DIXON INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL, around 0.2 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, THOMAS L SIMS MIDDLE SCHOOL comes 2nd of 6 in the immediate cluster, above the nearby-schools average of 64.9%.

The school occupies a bedroom-community site.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count fell 19%: 1,013 students in 2018 compared to 823 in 2025. The White share of enrollment contracted from 85% to 76% over that span. Class-load math has rose: from 19.1:1 in 2018 to 20.6:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, recent activity here tends to focus on open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.