Pemayetv Emahakv Charter Our Way School, Okeechobee FL

Original Research by School Decision on Pemayetv Emahakv Charter Our Way School

Pemayetv Emahakv Charter Our Way School sits on East Harney Pond Road in Okeechobee, serving children from prekindergarten through eighth grade. Its name draws from the Muscogee (Creek) language, and the school's demographic profile reflects that connection: a majority of students identify as American Indian or Alaska Native, with additional students identifying as two or more races, Hispanic, and white. The school is small, enrolling roughly the number of students you would expect across nine grade levels at a community-focused charter. Free and reduced price lunch data was reported but shows an unusually low count, which may reflect how the school's charter arrangement handles that designation rather than the actual economic circumstances of families; a parent curious about this would want to ask the school directly.

On state assessments, the picture is genuinely strong in mathematics. Across the tested grades from third through seventh, proficiency rates are high, with fourth and fifth grade results particularly impressive. Eighth grade math data was suppressed, likely due to small class size. Reading and language arts tell a more varied story. Third grade ELA results are strong, and fifth grade holds up reasonably well, but performance drops noticeably in the middle school years, with sixth grade results falling below what the elementary grades suggest. Seventh and eighth grade ELA proficiency lags behind the math results at those same grade levels, and a parent whose child is heading into middle school would want to ask the school what supports are in place for literacy in those years. Science proficiency at fifth and eighth grade falls in the solid-to-moderate range.

Multi-year trend data was not available, so it is not possible to say whether these results are improving, flat, or declining over time.

The school is a charter within the Glades County School District's geographic boundary, and that district context matters. Glades County entered a state-declared financial emergency in 2026 after its reserves dropped below the minimum the state requires. Florida appointed a financial oversight board to manage district spending, and heading into the current school year the district had already cut a substantial sum from its budget and eliminated more than two dozen positions. Publicly reported accounts cite declining enrollment as a driver of the fiscal stress. A half-cent sales tax referendum is scheduled for Glades County voters in November 2026; if passed, the proceeds would go toward facility upgrades, technology, and security, and publicly reported language in the ballot language indicates a share would flow to charter schools in the county. The outcome of that vote will shape the school's physical and resource environment in coming years. Families considering this school should understand this backdrop and ask directly how the charter's finances are structured relative to the district's crisis.

Okeechobee itself is a small agricultural city anchored by cattle country and Lake Okeechobee. The downtown along Park Street has locally owned shops, family restaurants, murals, and a walkable corridor that hosts regular festivals and a farmers market through the Main Street program. Outside that core the town is auto-oriented. The housing market here sits noticeably below both the state and national medians, which makes it accessible for families who could not afford coastal Florida. Home values have been essentially flat or slightly down over the past year, a reflection of a slow-growth community rather than a hot market. No rental index data was available for this zip code.

The school does not serve high school grades, so graduation rate data does not apply here. Program offering details beyond what the state assessment data reveals were not available in the data provided.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 387%

School 87% · District 76% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 24 pts above state median

Grade 494%

School 94% · District 51% · ▲ 43 pts above district

▲ 33 pts above state median

Grade 594%

School 94% · District 69% · ▲ 25 pts above district

▲ 39 pts above state median

Grade 679%

School 79% · District 69% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median

Grade 792%

School 92% · District 67% · ▲ 25 pts above district

▲ 43 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 390%

School 90% · District 69% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▲ 34 pts above state median

Grade 475%

School 75% · District 56% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median

Grade 581%

School 81% · District 60% · ▲ 22 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median

Grade 644%

School 44% · District 56% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median

Grade 768%

School 68% · District 55% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 13 pts above state median

Grade 864%

School 64% · District 48% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median

Science

Grade 569%

School 69% · District 61% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median

Grade 864%

School 64% · District 38% · ▲ 26 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median

This schoolGLADES, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.