The top reported proficiency rate is 55% in Math. The lowest is 43% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Herbert Cambridge Elementary School
Herbert Cambridge Elementary sits on the southwest side of Naples, in a part of the city that is more residential and working-class than the upscale Gulf-front neighborhoods Naples is broadly known for. The school serves prekindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public elementary within Collier County Public Schools.
The student body is relatively small for its grade span. A large majority of students are Hispanic, with Black students making up the next largest share and white students a small fraction of enrollment. Well over half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, making this one of the more economically challenged campuses in a county whose housing market sits well above both state and national medians. Data on English learner rates and students with IEPs were not available in what was provided.
On Florida's FAST assessments, the picture is mixed and in some areas points to real gaps worth understanding. In math, third and fourth graders score at roughly around half or just above half proficient, with fifth grade slightly below that. Those numbers are below what high-performing elementary schools in Florida typically produce, and a parent considering this school for a child who needs strong math acceleration may want to ask the school specifically how it differentiates for different skill levels. Reading results tell a similar story. Third grade ELA proficiency lands just above the midpoint, fourth grade falls just below it, and fifth grade drops noticeably lower, meaning fewer than half of fifth graders tested proficient in reading. The fifth-grade science assessment showed roughly four in ten students at proficiency. Year-over-year trend data was not available, so it is not possible from this data to say whether these results are improving, holding steady, or declining.
The district context matters here. Collier County Public Schools adopted a structured, explicit phonics program for kindergarten through second grade starting in 2023-24, publicly reported as a science-of-reading shift in early literacy instruction. Whether and how that curriculum change is showing up in Herbert Cambridge's reading results at the upper elementary grades is not yet reflected in the available data, but it is worth asking the school about when visiting. Voters also renewed a tax-neutral referendum in late 2024 that shifts funds toward operating costs, including teacher pay and arts, running through 2029. That gives the district a degree of financial stability that is relevant for any family thinking about the next several years.
Housing in the zip code around the school is expensive by most national measures. Home values sit meaningfully above both the Florida state median and the national figure, and monthly ownership costs reflect that. Rents are also high relative to income, with rent-to-income ratios that would stretch many budgets. Both home values and rents have pulled back slightly year over year, but the area remains a costly market. Families weighing this school alongside their housing options should factor that in.
Naples itself, publicly reported as a Gulf-coast city with a distinct split between its upscale historic core and more inland residential areas, offers real civic assets. Cambier Park hosts free public concerts, the downtown Fifth Avenue South and Third Street South corridors carry galleries and dining, and the Naples Pier and beaches are accessible recreational anchors. The school's address on 20th Place SW places it in a more interior residential section, away from the beachside character that defines Old Naples.
No information on program offerings, extracurricular activities, or staffing ratios at Herbert Cambridge was available in the data provided. A family considering enrollment would benefit from a direct conversation with the school about what support structures exist for students reading below grade level, how ELL students are served given the school's large Hispanic enrollment, and what the school's specific literacy and math intervention pathways look like in practice.
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