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What's the most underrated thing about WESTSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL that outsiders don't know?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
695
Elementary
DISTRICT 482 · STATE 604
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·COLUMBIA·NCES 120036004332
WESTSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
1956 SW COUNTY ROAD 252B, LAKE CITY, FL 32024 · (386) 755-8280 · Columbia County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY32-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL695 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
17.4:1
40 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.6:1 · STATE 17.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
44%
305 students
DISTRICT 61% · STATE 50%
Community
3
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade
Student demographics
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. 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
69.0%
FL avg 56.7% . +2.4pp since 2023
Math
73.4%
FL avg 58.9% . -1.9pp since 2023
What this means: On the FAST / B.E.S.T., Florida's statewide test, about 69 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 73 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Florida schools, those numbers are about 57 and 59. Reading and writing scores are up about 2 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 2 points.
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
71.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
59.2%
based on FL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+11.8pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 71% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 59% 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 →
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
695
-51 (-7%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
17.4:1
was 16.2:1
% White
64%
was 66%
% Hispanic
8%
was 8%
% Black
14%
was 16%
% Asian
3%
was 2%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About WESTSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Set in LAKE CITY, Florida, WESTSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is a reasonably sized elementary-level community, operated by COLUMBIA. It works with 695 students across grades pre-K through 5.
Within COLUMBIA, which oversees 16 schools and 9,815 students, WESTSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is one campus in the system.
Looking at the student body, WESTSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL lists that 64% of the student body identifies as White. The remainder consists of 14% Black, 10% multiracial, 8% Hispanic, 3% Asian.
On the income-and-resources front, WESTSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL reports 40 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 17.4:1. The state averages about 17.5:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Around 44% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Columbia County (around 55%), the school's rate is south of typical.
After controlling for student poverty, WESTSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 59.2%, the actual is 71.0%, a residual of +11.8 points.
Zooming out to the county, community-level numbers for Columbia County indicate median household income runs about $59,205, about 17% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 11%. In all, Columbia County runs 19 public schools (combined enrollment of about 9,815 students), of which WESTSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is one.
Nearest neighbor: PINEMOUNT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, around 2.8 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, WESTSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL comes 1st of 7 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 50.9%.
WESTSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL operates from a town-center location.
Looking at the recent track record. WESTSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL's enrollment has declined 7% since 2018, when it stood at 746 (now 695). Class-load math has grew: from 16.2:1 in 2018 to 17.4:1 in 2025.
Within the allk12 community for this school, members of the WESTSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL community share and discuss pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Columbia County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
71,789
Census ACS
Median income
$59,205
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
17%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
19
9,815 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in COLUMBIA
- COLUMBIA HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,711 students
- FORT WHITE HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,101 students
- BELMONT ACADEMYCombined · 828 students
- LAKE CITY MIDDLE SCHOOLMiddle · 809 students
- EASTSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 655 students
- FORT WHITE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 644 students
Other schools in LAKE CITY
- COLUMBIA HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,711 students
- BELMONT ACADEMYCombined · 828 students
- LAKE CITY MIDDLE SCHOOLMiddle · 809 students
- EASTSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 655 students
- MELROSE PARK ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 635 students
- COLUMBIA CITY ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 585 students
Nearby schools
- PINEMOUNT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL2.8 mi · 448
- SUMMERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL3.2 mi · 492
- LAKE CITY MIDDLE SCHOOL3.2 mi · 809
- COLUMBIA HIGH SCHOOL3.8 mi · 1,711
- PATHWAYS ACADEMY3.8 mi · 94
- PREK ESE4.1 mi · 7
Frequently asked questions
About WESTSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLHow large is WESTSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
WESTSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL enrolls approximately 695 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does WESTSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL serve?
WESTSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at WESTSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
The student-to-teacher ratio at WESTSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is approximately 17.4:1 (40 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at WESTSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
At WESTSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, the student body is approximately 64% White, 8% Hispanic, 14% Black, 3% Asian, 10% Two or more.
Is WESTSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL public or private?
WESTSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is a public K-12 school, overseen by COLUMBIA.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.