1
What's the vibe like in the hallways at WENDELL WATSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL right now?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
764
Elementary
DISTRICT 641 · STATE 604
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·POLK·NCES 120159002893
WENDELL WATSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
6800 WALT WILLIAMS RD, LAKELAND, FL 33809 · (863) 853-6060 · Polk County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL764 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 27% of Florida public elementary schools
- CTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- CBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Florida public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
17.0:1
45 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.3:1 · STATE 17.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
59%
448 students
DISTRICT 65% · STATE 50%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 12 | 2% |
| Kindergarten | 104 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 123 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 129 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 137 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 126 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 133 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (104) is 22% smaller than its 5th grade class (133).
Student demographics
65%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 67% · STATE 70% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
FAST / B.E.S.T. 2024-25 . % at Level 3 or AboveEnglish Language Arts
46.2%
FL avg 56.7% . -4.0pp since 2023
Math
46.8%
FL avg 58.9% . -3.8pp since 2023
What this means: On the FAST / B.E.S.T., Florida's statewide test, about 46 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 47 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Florida schools, those numbers are about 57 and 59. Reading and writing scores are down about 4 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 4 points.
FAST / B.E.S.T. results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 46.2% | 46.8% |
| 2023-24 | 50.2% | 50.6% |
% at Level 3 or Above, all students and all tested grades.
Source: FAST / B.E.S.T.. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
47.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
51.8%
based on FL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-4.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 47% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 52% typical for Florida schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Florida's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like WENDELL WATSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
WENDELL WATSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL's state test result (47.4% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| WENDELL WATSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL this school | 764 | 58.6% | 47.4% |
| MANATEE COVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ORANGE CITY | 787 | 58.7% | 50.4% |
| NEIL ARMSTRONG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PORT CHARLOTTE | 763 | 60.3% | 52.2% |
| GEORGE W. MARKS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DELAND | 780 | 57.2% | 55.5% |
| THE VILLAGES ELEMENTARY OF LADY LAKE SCHOOL LADY LAKE | 740 | 56.5% | 61.3% |
| SPRING HILL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SPRING HILL | 829 | 61.6% | 50.9% |
Matched among Florida elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where WENDELL WATSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Florida | In Polk County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 47.4% | #1,465 of 2,136 | #40 of 85 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 46.8% | #1,699 of 2,149 ▼ 339 | #48 of 86 ▼ 9 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 46.2% | #1,485 of 2,149 ▼ 320 | #43 of 86 ▼ 13 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 764 | #549 of 2,267 | #23 of 89 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.0:1 | #1,424 of 2,077 | #38 of 85 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 64.6% | #592 of 2,108 | #44 of 85 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 58.6% | #962 of 2,188 | #65 of 88 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -9.2% | #986 of 1,374 | #25 of 39 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
764
-21 (-3%) vs 2020
-4% since 2000-01, when it was 799
Student : Teacher
17.0:1
was 15.4:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 764 | 45 | 17.0:1 | 59% (448) |
| 2023-24 | 835 | 53 | 15.8:1 | 53% (444) |
| 2022-23 | 875 | 59 | 14.8:1 | 40% (351) |
| 2020-21 | 785 | 51 | 15.4:1 | 45% (356) |
| 2017-18 | 841 | 51 | 16.5:1 | 44% (374) |
| 2015-16 | 771 | 48 | 16.1:1 | 57% (443) |
| 2010-11 | 804 | 55 | 14.6:1 | 54% (433) |
| 2000-01 | 799 | 43 | 18.6:1 | 34% (270) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for WENDELL WATSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
About WENDELL WATSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Located in LAKELAND, Florida, WENDELL WATSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is a medium-sized elementary school. The school counts 764 students across pre-K through 5. The school's enrollment is 26% bigger than the 604 average for elementary schools in Florida.
WENDELL WATSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL sits within POLK, which has 163 schools and 116,552 students.
White students are the largest group at WENDELL WATSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, with 47% of enrollment. Beyond that, enrollment is 33% Hispanic, 14% Black, and 4% multiracial. The White share of the county population is higher, at 56%. WENDELL WATSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL has a diversity index of 65%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
Federal data list 45 full-time-equivalent teachers at WENDELL WATSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL in 2024-25, for a ratio of 17.0:1. Elementary schools in Florida average about 17.5:1, a similar figure. The school's rate of free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is 59%.
The allk12 Grade for WENDELL WATSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is C. Compared with Florida public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 27% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, WENDELL WATSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL would be expected to post about 51.8%. Its actual average proficiency rate on state tests is 47.4%.
Census estimates describe Polk County this way: median household income is about $65,978, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 24%, and roughly 11% of residents are in poverty. The public schools of Polk County number 172 and enroll about 117,004.
LAKE GIBSON MIDDLE SCHOOL is the public school closest to WENDELL WATSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, about 1.9 miles away. WENDELL WATSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL has at least 8 other public schools within five miles. WENDELL WATSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ranks 2nd of 8 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 47.4% against a local average of 42.0%.
On the NCES locale scale, the school is Suburb: Large.
Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, the student count dropped from 785 to 764. From 2020-21 to 2024-25, the ratio rose from 15.4:1 to 17.0:1.
Families, students, and staff can use this page to discuss science fairs, picture day, and bus routes at WENDELL WATSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Polk County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
790,694
Census ACS
Median income
$65,978
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
24%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
172
117,004 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in POLK
- HAINES CITY SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 3,105 students
- DAVENPORT HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,731 students
- WINTER HAVEN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,648 students
- RIDGE COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,632 students
- GEORGE W. JENKINS SENIOR HIGHHigh · 2,469 students
- BARTOW SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,276 students
Other schools in LAKELAND
- GEORGE W. JENKINS SENIOR HIGHHigh · 2,469 students
- LAKELAND SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,985 students
- LAKE GIBSON SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,973 students
- KATHLEEN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,861 students
- MCKEEL ACADEMY OF TECHNOLOGYHigh · 1,750 students
- SOUTH MCKEEL ACADEMYElementary · 1,200 students
Nearby schools
- LAKE GIBSON MIDDLE SCHOOL1.9 mi · 1,149
- LAKE GIBSON SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL2.0 mi · 1,973
- EDGAR L. PADGETT ELEMENTARY2.0 mi · 531
- DR. NE ROBERTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL3.9 mi · 697
- NORTH LAKELAND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL OF CHOICE4.0 mi · 658
- R. CLEM CHURCHWELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL4.2 mi · 662
Frequently asked questions
About WENDELL WATSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOLHow many students attend WENDELL WATSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
WENDELL WATSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL enrolls approximately 764 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does WENDELL WATSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL serve?
WENDELL WATSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL serves grades PK-05.
How many teachers does WENDELL WATSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL have?
WENDELL WATSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL employs 45 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 17.0:1.
What is the student diversity at WENDELL WATSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
Student demographics at WENDELL WATSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL are roughly 47% White, 33% Hispanic, 14% Black, 1% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is WENDELL WATSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL in?
WENDELL WATSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is part of POLK.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.