The top reported proficiency rate is 50% in Math. The lowest is 37% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Memorial Elementary School
Memorial Elementary sits on East Hickory Street in Arcadia, the sole incorporated city in DeSoto County and the seat of a rural, agricultural community built around citrus groves, cattle ranching, and a long cowboy tradition. The school serves prekindergarten through fifth grade and draws a population that is majority Hispanic, with substantial Black and white enrollment as well. The school's student body is large for an elementary campus serving these grades. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school in a high-need economic context that shapes both its challenges and its resource priorities. Data on English learner enrollment and students with IEPs were not available in the records reviewed.
On Florida's FAST assessments, proficiency rates across grades and subjects fall below the midpoint of what Florida's tested population achieves statewide. In reading and language arts, less than half of students in each tested grade scored at grade level, with the fourth grade sitting notably lower than the others. Math results are somewhat stronger than ELA across the board, with the fourth grade showing the highest proficiency among tested grades, though still below the statewide norm. Fifth-grade science results mirror the ELA pattern, with fewer than half of students reaching proficiency. A parent looking into these results further with the school would benefit from understanding what targeted reading and math supports the school currently provides and how progress is tracked across grade levels. Multi-year trend data was not available, so it is not possible from the current data to say whether results are improving, holding, or declining.
Because Memorial Elementary covers only prekindergarten through fifth grade, there is no graduation rate or course-access data that would apply here; those measures belong to the high school level.
The DeSoto district overall has a few publicly reported developments worth knowing. Teacher starting salaries have been raised to a level above the state average through a negotiated agreement, funded without a local surtax, which is an indicator of some stability in classroom staffing. At the high school level, a major construction project is underway to replace an aging campus, with the new building expected to open around fall 2026. The school board also recently lowered its millage rate to keep operating revenue level as property values rose, which means the school tax portion of local bills was not a major cost driver for the most recent budget cycle.
Arcadia itself is a compact, car-dependent small city. Downtown has a walkable historic antique district and an active rodeo and festival tradition, but daily errands and commutes require a car for most residents. The city is in a post-hurricane recovery phase following significant damage from Hurricane Ian in 2022, with new coffee shops, a brewery, and other businesses joining the existing antique shops and historic buildings. Major local employers include a regional hospital, a large Walmart distribution center, county and city government, the school district itself, and the surrounding agricultural economy.
Housing in the area is priced well below Florida's statewide median and below the national median, making the market relatively accessible. Values have edged down slightly year over year rather than rising, which reflects the rural county's more stable, less speculative market compared to coastal Florida. Rental price data was not available. A family buying here would find the price-to-income ratio sits at a level that national benchmarks would characterize as affordable relative to those broader norms, though local income levels and the rural job market are the relevant context.
For a family choosing Memorial Elementary, the key picture is an elementary school serving a diverse, economically challenged student body in a small rural community, with test results that are below state norms across subjects, particularly in reading. The district is making investments in teacher pay and facilities, but the academic gap relative to state averages is real and worth discussing directly with the school.
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