The top reported proficiency rate is 10% in Math. The lowest is 0% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Mattie V Rutherford Alt Ed Center
Mattie V. Rutherford Alternative Education Center is a public alternative school in Jacksonville, Florida, operated by Duval County Public Schools. It serves students in grades four through eight and is located on Hubbard Street in the 32206 zip code, a neighborhood just north of downtown Jacksonville. Understanding what this school is and who it serves requires reading it through that "alternative" designation first.
Alternative schools in Florida typically serve students who have been placed there because of disciplinary referrals, behavioral concerns, or other circumstances that have interrupted their enrollment in a traditional school. Enrollment is very small, concentrated heavily in the upper grades, with the largest cohorts in seventh and eighth grade. The vast majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, pointing to a population with significant economic need. The student body is predominantly Black, with smaller shares of White and Hispanic students. Data on English learners and students with IEPs was not available in what was provided.
State testing results are reported for grades six through eight in math and ELA, and for grade eight in science. The grade four and five results were suppressed, likely because the groups were too small for public reporting. Where results are available, proficiency rates are very low across every tested grade and subject. In math and ELA at sixth and seventh grade, only a small fraction of students scored proficient, and the eighth grade science result was zero. These numbers are striking, though a parent reading them should understand something important about context: alternative school populations by definition include students who have faced disruptions, trauma, or circumstances that derailed their academic progress in a traditional setting. Proficiency rates at a school like this are not a measure of the school's instruction in isolation. They reflect where students arrive, not just what happens once they are there. A parent would want to speak directly with the school about what academic recovery and social-emotional support look like, what the transition plan back to a traditional school involves, and what the typical student trajectory is.
No trend data was available, so it is not possible to say whether outcomes have been improving, holding steady, or declining over time. Program details, course access, staffing ratios, discipline data, and attendance information were also not present in what was provided. These are exactly the questions a parent or guardian would want to bring to the school directly.
The housing market surrounding the school reflects Jacksonville's lower-cost urban core. Home values in the immediate zip code are well below the Florida state median and below the national median, and have declined year over year. Rents have risen modestly. Jacksonville broadly is one of the faster-growing metro areas in the country, with major downtown investment underway, though the neighborhood around Rutherford remains removed from the commercial energy of Riverside, San Marco, or the new downtown riverfront development. The city is largely car-dependent outside a few walkable districts, and the school's address is in an area that reflects the working-class residential fabric of North Jacksonville rather than the redeveloping urban core.
No information was found on recent changes or strategic priorities within Duval County Public Schools that directly bear on this school. The district brief search did not turn up lasting changes before the research budget was exhausted, so that piece was left out rather than guessed at.
Mattie V. Rutherford serves a specific and often underserved population: students whose path through school has been interrupted and who need a structured setting to stabilize before returning to a traditional school. The low tested proficiency rates should be read with that mission in mind. What a family would want to know is not how this school compares to a neighborhood elementary or middle school, but whether it has the staffing, the support services, and the clear reentry pathway a student in this situation needs.
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