W. DOUGLAS HARTLEY ELEMENTARY

W. DOUGLAS HARTLEY ELEMENTARY is a K-5 school of mid-sized scale in ST AUGUSTINE, Florida, part of ST. JOHNS, works with 596 students in grades pre-K through 5.

W. DOUGLAS HARTLEY ELEMENTARY is one of 53 schools operated by ST. JOHNS, a district that educates 52,383 students overall.

In terms of who attends, W. DOUGLAS HARTLEY ELEMENTARY reports that White students make up the majority at 73%. The remainder consists of 12% Hispanic, 6% multiracial, 6% Black, 3% Asian.

In terms of school funding signals, The school employs 38 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 15.5:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 17.5:1 average. An estimated 43% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. By comparison, St. Johns County runs at roughly 21%, so the school's eligibility rate is meaningfully above the surrounding baseline.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), W. DOUGLAS HARTLEY ELEMENTARY sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 59.7%; this one delivers 70.8%.

In the broader community, community-level numbers for St. Johns County indicate median household income runs about $109,839, 51% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 4%. W. DOUGLAS HARTLEY ELEMENTARY is one of 68 public schools in St. Johns County (combined enrollment of about 52,895 students).

The closest other public school is GAMBLE ROGERS MIDDLE SCHOOL, roughly 1.1 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 3 other public schools cluster around W. DOUGLAS HARTLEY ELEMENTARY. On composite proficiency, W. DOUGLAS HARTLEY ELEMENTARY comes 3rd of 7 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 68.4%.

Geographically, the school is in an outer-ring area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at W. DOUGLAS HARTLEY ELEMENTARY has contracted 10%, going from 663 students in 2018 to 596 in 2025. The White share of enrollment contracted from 79% to 73% over that span.

On the community side, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.