Citrus Springs Elementary School, Citrus Springs FL

Original Research by School Decision on Citrus Springs Elementary School

Citrus Springs Elementary sits in a master-planned residential community in northern Citrus County, serving children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. The school draws from a community that is quieter and more spread out than most Florida towns of comparable size, built around single-family homes on spacious lots rather than a commercial or civic center. Retail and services are largely concentrated elsewhere in the county, and the elementary and middle schools are among the few civic anchors within Citrus Springs itself.

The enrollment is substantial for a stand-alone elementary school. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, making this a high-need population by that measure. The student body is predominantly white, with Hispanic students making up the next largest share, and smaller representations of Black students, multiracial students, and other groups. Data on English learner enrollment and students with IEPs was not available in the records reviewed.

On Florida's FAST assessments, the most recent results show a mixed picture across grades and subjects. In ELA, proficiency rates in third through fifth grade cluster around roughly half of students reaching the bar, with little variation across those grade levels. In math, third and fourth grade results are in a similar range, but fifth grade math proficiency drops noticeably lower, well below the performance in the earlier grades. The fifth grade science assessment shows a result in the low-to-mid range. There is a sixth grade math data point showing a very high proficiency rate, but given that the school serves only through fifth grade, this likely reflects a very small group of students taking an accelerated course and should not be read as representative of the school overall. Prior-year trend data was not available for comparison, so it is not possible to characterize whether these results are improving, declining, or stable. A parent who wants to understand trajectory would benefit from asking the school directly.

The Citrus County School District, which operates this school, publicly reported a shift in its state accountability grade in recent years, dropping before recovering. For the most recent reported year the district earned a "B" state rating with no schools at the lowest accountability tiers. That broader district context matters because it shapes resources, professional development, and the academic climate students carry from this elementary school into later grades.

The district has also adopted a revised student cell phone policy tied to a change in state law, effective district-wide, which shapes the daily classroom environment here as at every other school in Citrus County.

The Citrus Springs community itself is growing actively. Homebuilding is strong, with multiple national and regional builders operating in the area, and publicly reported data points to continued population growth and new single-family construction. Home values here come in well below the Florida state median and below national median home prices, which makes the area relatively accessible for buyers in the current rate environment. Rents, measured against local income levels, land at a manageable portion of household income. The combination of lower prices and active new construction makes this one of the more affordable entry points in the state's residential market.

The school does not offer a specialized program or magnet pathway. The district's new Agri-STEAM Academy is launching at a different elementary school across the county, not here, so families seeking that option would need to look into district transfer or choice procedures.

For a family moving into Citrus Springs, this is the neighborhood elementary school for a growing, affordable, mostly residential community. The academic proficiency results, particularly in fifth grade math and science, are areas a parent may want to explore further with the school to understand what support structures are in place for students who are behind grade-level expectations. Program information and staffing data beyond what appears here were not available.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 354%

School 54% · District 62% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 450%

School 50% · District 61% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 527%

School 27% · District 39% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 6100%

School 100% · District 54% · ▲ 46 pts above district

▲ 38 pts above state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 349%

School 49% · District 53% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 454%

School 54% · District 56% · ▼ 2 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 549%

School 49% · District 50% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · even with county median

Science

Grade 542%

School 42% · District 48% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

This schoolCITRUS, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income46%Higher-income53%6 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income52%Higher-income55%3 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income47%Higher-income51%4 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income44%Higher-income67%23 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income46%Higher-income54%8 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income22%Higher-income33%12 pp gap