WALTER CALDWELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

WALTER CALDWELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is an elementary-level community of moderately sized scale in AUBURNDALE, Florida, one of the schools within POLK, hosting 887 students in grades pre-K through 5. That puts it 47% above the typical public school in Florida, which averages around 604 students.

WALTER CALDWELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is one of 163 schools operated by POLK, a district that hosts 116,552 students overall.

On the student-mix side, WALTER CALDWELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL logs that the largest single group is Hispanic at 38%, but no single group is in the majority. Other groups include 30% Black, 27% White, 4% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 29% Hispanic, putting the school's mix meaningfully more Hispanic than the area baseline.

On the resource side, On paper, WALTER CALDWELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL has 54 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 16.4:1. The state averages around 17.5:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. About 73% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is higher than Polk County's rate of about 65%.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, WALTER CALDWELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 44.7% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 50.6%.

Zooming out to the county, ACS estimates for Polk County put median household income runs about $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%. In all, Polk County runs 172 public schools (combined enrollment of about 117,004 students), of which WALTER CALDWELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is one.

The closest other public school is AUBURNDALE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL, roughly 0.6 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), WALTER CALDWELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ranks 2nd on composite proficiency, ahead of the local average of 41.5%.

Geographically, the school is in a suburban area.

Trend over the last 7 years. WALTER CALDWELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL's enrollment has ticked up 39% since 2018, when it stood at 639 (now 887). Over the same period, the White share contracted from 46% to 27%.

On the community side, members of the WALTER CALDWELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL community share and discuss pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.