The top reported proficiency rate is 64% in Math. The lowest is 54% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Lewis E. Wadsworth Elementary
Lewis E. Wadsworth Elementary sits on Belle Terre Parkway in Palm Coast, serving children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It is a regular public school in the Flagler County school district, drawing from one of the fastest-growing corners of northeast Florida.
Palm Coast's roots shape the neighborhood around the school. The city was originally platted in the early 1970s as one of the country's largest master-planned communities, and its residential fabric still reflects that origin: low-density streets organized into lettered sections, golf courses, canals, and pine-rimmed lots, with commercial activity concentrated along corridors rather than scattered through neighborhoods. It is car-dependent in most parts, though the city has built out an extensive trail and path network. Growth is accelerating. Publicly reported accounts describe large approved residential developments that would push the city's footprint westward, along with a new data center, a YMCA, and mixed-use housing near Town Center. Families moving to Palm Coast are choosing a place that is still actively filling in.
On the housing side, local home values sit somewhat below the Florida state benchmark and are tracking slightly downward year over year. Rents have edged upward over the same period. Affordability, measured against income, is in a reasonably manageable range, though current mortgage rates make buying a home more expensive than renting in monthly cash terms.
A substantial share of Wadsworth's students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, meaning the school serves a mixed-income community with a meaningful proportion of families facing economic pressure. The student body is racially and ethnically diverse, with white students making up a plurality, followed by Hispanic students, Black students, and students of two or more races. IEP and English learner data were not available in what was provided, so parents with children who have special education or language needs should ask the school directly about those programs.
Florida's FAST assessments provide the clearest academic window here. In third grade, a strong majority of students tested at proficiency in math, and nearly as many reached proficiency in reading, which are genuinely solid results for an elementary school at this grade. By fourth and fifth grade, math proficiency remains in a solid range, though reading proficiency dips noticeably by fourth grade, with only about half of students scoring proficient. Fifth-grade reading and fifth-grade science land in a similar range. The pattern suggests the third-grade cohort performs well, with some softening in literacy as students move into the upper elementary years. A parent whose child is in fourth or fifth grade and working on reading fluency and comprehension may want to ask the school how it monitors and supports that progression. Multi-year trend data was not available, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent improvement, stability, or a shift.
A meaningful practical change affects elementary life across the district. Flagler Schools already banned cellphone use from bell to bell in its elementary schools, and publicly reported accounts confirm the district has seen a measurable drop in discipline referrals tied to that policy. For a family considering Wadsworth, this means students are off devices throughout the school day by established district practice.
Graduation rate and course access measures do not apply here, since Wadsworth serves only pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. Program information beyond what the assessments reveal was not available in the data provided.
The comparison framework for Flagler County has only one district, so positioning Wadsworth against neighboring districts was not meaningful with the available data.
What Wadsworth offers is a neighborhood elementary school in a high-growth suburban city, with student demographics that reflect Palm Coast's actual economic and racial mix, third-grade academic results that are worth noting, and upper-grade reading numbers that are worth watching closely.
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