The top reported proficiency rate is 75% in Math. The lowest is 65% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Waterleaf Elementary
Waterleaf Elementary sits in the Kernan Boulevard corridor on Jacksonville's east side, serving children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade within Duval County Public Schools. The school draws a genuinely mixed student body: white students make up a plurality, with Black, Hispanic, Asian, and multiracial families each contributing meaningfully to the school's composition. Close to half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which puts Waterleaf in a middle range for economic diversity rather than at either extreme. Data on English learners and students with IEPs was not available in what we reviewed.
On Florida's state assessments, Waterleaf's math results are a clear strength. Across third, fourth, and fifth grades, the school's FAST Math proficiency is solidly above what many Florida elementary schools post, with fifth grade performing particularly well among the three tested years. Science proficiency at fifth grade, measured by the Florida Statewide Science Assessment, is also strong. Reading and ELA tell a somewhat different story: proficiency rates in grades three through five are positive but sit noticeably below the school's own math performance. More than a third of tested students across those grade levels are not yet reaching proficiency in ELA. A parent whose child needs reading support would be well served asking Waterleaf specifically about early literacy intervention, what it looks like in practice, and how progress is communicated to families.
Multi-year trend data was not available, so it is not possible to say from this data whether scores are climbing, stable, or dipping. Given that the state recently changed its assessment system, year-over-year comparisons statewide carry uncertainty anyway. The comparison framework available here covers Duval County's district level rather than individual schools, and the county had too few districts in the comparison set to produce a meaningful position on proficiency relative to neighbors, so that comparison was not applicable.
Because Waterleaf serves only pre-K through fifth grade, there is no graduation rate to report, and none is expected at this level.
No specific program offerings, after-school activities, staffing details, discipline data, or attendance figures appeared in the data we reviewed. Those would be worth asking the school about directly.
The neighborhood sits within one of Jacksonville's suburban residential corridors, a car-dependent part of a city that is itself largely auto-oriented outside its historic core neighborhoods. Jacksonville as a whole is growing at a pace well above national norms, publicly reported as one of the faster-expanding metros in the country through the rest of the decade. That growth shows up in the housing market around the school: home values in the zip code are roughly in line with both the state median and the national median, though Florida values broadly have softened slightly over the past year while the national figure has edged up. Rents in the area are modest enough that the rent-to-income picture remains relatively accessible compared to many large metros, though mortgage costs at current rates make purchasing a more meaningful stretch for buyers without a substantial down payment. The city's major employers span health care, logistics, military, and financial services, giving the broader Jacksonville economy a reasonably diversified employment base.
District-level strategic priorities and any recent changes at Duval County Public Schools were not confirmed in the research completed for this review, so that section was left out rather than speculated on.
What Waterleaf offers, in plain terms, is a diverse, mid-sized elementary school with genuinely strong math and science outcomes and a reading picture that warrants a closer look. For families prioritizing a neighborhood school with a varied peer community in a growing part of Jacksonville's east side, it is worth a visit and a direct conversation with school staff about literacy programming and student support.
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